Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Monday, April 10, 2023 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, New York
RHP Yu Darvish (0-0, 1.80) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (1-1, 6.35)
SNY 

The Mets look revenge today as they take on the Padres for the first time since the Padres knocked the Mets out of the 2022 playoffs. The Mets enter tonight’s series coming off of a series win against the Marlins. The Padres are coming off a series win against the Braves. It’s time for an early season statement series!

Mets Lineup

Max Scherzer is looking to get himself and the Mets rotation back on the right track today. Through two starts this season Max has allowed eight runs from 12 hits and four walks over 11 1/3 innings while striking out eight batters. He’s coming off of a particularly rough start against the Brewers where he allowed five runs from eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. There was a moment where he allowed back to back to back homers. Just terrible vibes.

In the regular season last year Scherzer made one start against the Padres where he allowed two runs from five hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings. The Padres got the best of Max though in the Wild Card Series, tagging him for seven runs from seven hits, including four homers. The Padres have the following career regular season numbers against Max:

  • Manny Machado 8-50, 2 2B, 2 HR, 20 K
  • Matt Carpenter 8-31, 3 2B, BB, 10 K
  • Nelson Cruz 10-27, 2B, HR, 7 K
  • Trent Grisham 2-15, 2B, BB, 4 K
  • Jake Cronenworth 0-13, BB, 4 K
  • Xander Bogaerts 2-11, 5 K
  • Juan Soto 1-3, HR, 3 BB
  • Ha-Seong Kim 0-3, 2 K

Opposing Lineup

The Mets bats draw Yu Darvish’s second start of the season. In his first start he allowed one run from three hits and four walks over five innings while striking out three. He’s coming off of a great year where he made 30 starts tossing 194 2/3 innings with a 3.10 ERA, 5.80 FIP, 1.400 WHIP and a 254 ERA+. Darvish was fantastic against the Mets in the regular season last year allowing only one run from 14 innings and six hits. Between those two games he struck out 15 batters. Then in the Wild Card Series last year he held the Mets to only one run from six hits over seven innings. The Mets have the following regular season career numbers against Yu:

  • Francisco Lindor 5-16, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
  • Starling Marte 7-17, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
  • Eduardo Escobar 3-17, 2 2B, HR, 7 K
  • Jeff McNeil 1-11, HR, BB, 2 K
  • Pete Alonso 2-10, HR, 3 K
  • Brandon Nimmo 0-6, 2 K
  • Luis Guillorme 1-6, 2B, 2 K
  • Mark Canha 1-4, K
  • Daniel Vogelbach 2-3

Game Notes

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Can the Mets push out Darvish early? The only blemish that Darvish had in his first start was walks. He issued four of them, contributing to his pitch count. The Mets are third in the league with walks at 45 (Dodgers have 58). Darvish lasted seven innings each of his last three starts against the Mets. Can the Mets make him work early and get to the bullpen?
  2. Please stop throwing at the Mets: It’s time for another check-in on the Mets HBP numbers. Through ten games this season the Mets have already been hit nine times this season. The Mets currently lead the league in this category but there are several other teams with abnormally high HBP amounts so far this season. The Rays have been hit eight times. The Diamondbacks, Astros and Giants each have been hit seven times.
  3. Old Friends! The Padres have several former Mets on the roster, some of whom we’ll see today and some we’ll see in quick clips of them saying hello to their old teammates. Most notably is Seth Lugo who pitched against the Braves last night. In addition to Lugo, the Padres have Domingo Tapia, Michael Wacha, and Nabil Crismatt on their roster.

Let’s go Mets!