Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, New York
LHP Josh Fleming (0-0, 4.26) vs. RHP Kodai Senga (4-2, 4.14)
SNY

Tuesday night was a mix of some old and some new for the New York Mets. The Mets got a rough start from a pitcher who was supposed to be a source of strength for the Mets (Justin Verlander), adding to the narrative that the starting pitching is the breaking point for this team. On the new side, the Mets bats actually hit homeruns. At one point the Rays were up 6-0 and thanks to homers from Brett Baty, Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar the Mets were able to make the final score 8-5.

This morning the news broke that the Mets are calling up Mark Vientos to the majors, and he will be in the lineup tonight, batting eighth. Vientos joins prospects Francisco Álvarez and Baty who have also recently made the jump from Syracuse. Vientos was absolutely crushing the ball this season in Triple-A hitting .333/.416/.688 with 13 homers.

Can the offense come through again tonight? Can the Mets set up a rubber game for tomorrow?

Mets Lineup

Kodai Senga makes his eighth start of the season tonight. Over his first 37 innings, he has a 4.14 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.514 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. After back to back starts where Senga allowed only two runs over 11 innings while striking out 11 batters, he took a step back in his last start. Against the Reds last week he allowed five runs from eight eight hits and a walk over five innings, while striking out seven batters.

Rays Lineup

Josh Fleming will make his second start of the season tonight for Tampa Bay. Over eight total games and 31 2/3 innings, he has a 4.26 ERA, 4.79 FIP, 1.421 WHIP and a 96 ERA+. Fleming has started since his first game of the season where he allowed five runs over three innings from 10 hits and a walk. Since then, he has always pitched in relief with a minimum of three innings and a maximum of six innings. Fleming has already reached the 80-pitch plateau this season as well. His last time out was a solid bounce back. On May 7th, he allowed six runs over five innings and then five days later he allowed only one run over four innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

I’ve been writing game previews and game threads for a long time. This is the first time the Mets have had at least five players face an opponent and only have singles, no walks and no strikeouts.

Game Notes

Mark Vientos is back in the big leagues, but there are already questions about his usage in his first MLB game of the season. Not only is Vientos batting eighth in the lineup, but he is also playing third base. Most expected Vientos to almost exclusively DH once he was called up, but Buck Showalter is opting to throw him into the fire immediately, and sit Brett Baty a day after he broke out of a slump with a home run.

Elsewhere, Eduardo Escobar is batting second, a genuine surprise, and is also playing second base with Jeff McNeil not in the lineup. Tommy Pham continues to get starts in the heart of the order, batting fifth tonight and DHing. While the lineup could certainly produce, it’s hard to believe this was the most optimal group to trot out against a Tampa Bay team that is tied for first in team ERA.

If the Mets lose tonight or tomorrow, it will be their eighth straight series without a win, after dropping only one of their first six series of the season.

The Rays plan to start one of their top prospects, 22-year-old Taj Bradley on Thursday against the Mets in the finale of the series.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Quality Starts: The Mets are 30th in the league in quality starts. That pretty much explains the entire Mets season. Kodai Senga, who already has two quality starts this season, is looking to give the Mets only their seventh quality start of the season. That would tie the Mets with the Royals. The next closest NL East team is the Marlins with 10 quality starts.
  2. Alonso has a share of the homer lead again! Alonso tied Max Muncy for the season lead in homers at 14. To put this in perspective, the Mets as a ball club only have 44 homers. His homer created a moment of hope that maybe the Mets could mount a comeback. The Mets, who have been overwhelmingly outscored in the first inning, could use an Alonso homer early tonight.
  3. Keep the Rays in the ballpark! Isaac Paredes hit two homers last night for a total of five runs. Jose Siri hit a massive solo shot after Bretty Baty’s bomb. The Rays lead the league with homers, and it’s how they get on the scoreboard in a hurry. Kodai Senga has allowed six homers this year at a rate of 1.5 HR/9, but he has allowed only one homer in his last three games. Keep the Rays in the park tonight and the Mets will have a chance.

Let’s go Mets!