Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Mets once again had their game postponed on Monday night, this time due to inclement weather, as was the case Sunday when the game was suspended in the first inning by rain.
After their first three games against the Nationals were postponed because of COVID-19, and with the weather issues on Sunday and Monday, the Mets have now played five games in the twelve days since the season began. This may be a contributing factor to their offensive woes. They’ve scored 16 runs in five games, and have a team batting average of .222 and a team OPS of .667. They have hit three home runs.
The series against the Phillies will now commence with a doubleheader on Tuesday, beginning at 4:10 pm. After a night game on Wednesday, the series will conclude on Thursday with 12:10 start. This means the two teams will play four games in under 48 hours. Let’s take a look at the revised pitching matchups.
Tuesday, April 13 doubleheader. Game one, RHP Taijuan Walker (0-0) NYM vs. RHP Chase Anderson (0-1) PHI, 7:10 pm
Walker, whom the Mets signed just before spring training, started the Mets home opener on April 8, and was brilliant. He went six innings, allowing no runs on four hits, striking out four and walking none. The Shreveport, Louisiana native had Tommy John surgery and missed most of the 2018 season, while making just one start in 2019. The eight-year veteran has a career record of 35-34, with a 3.83 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.
Anderson started against the Mets on April 6, taking the loss after pitching five innings and allowing two earned runs on two hits, one of which was a home run to Dominic Smith. The right-hander is a veteran of seven seasons, and has a 54-43 career record with a career 4.08 ERA. Anderson has pitched for the Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Blue Jays.
The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 a.m.
Tuesday, April 13, Game two, RHP Marcus Stroman (1-0) NYM vs. RHP Aaron Nola (0-0) PHI
Stroman was on the mound Sunday when the game was suspended. He threw just nine pitches, and declared himself ready to go for Tuesday’s action. Stroman logged the win on April 6 against the Phillies, when he tossed six innings of one-run, three-hit baseball. In the game, he struck out three and walked one. He allowed a home run to Didi Gregorius in the fourth inning.
Nola is the ace of the Phillies’ staff. He started against the Mets on April 7, and though he was staked to an early lead, he lasted just four innings, letting up one run on six hits. He worked out of trouble in that game, but was forced to make an early exit with a high pitch count. In his previous start against the Marlins, Nola tossed 6.2 innings, surrendering two runs on six hits. The five-year veteran has a 58-40 career record, with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 a.m.
Wednesday, April 14, LHP David Peterson (0-1) NYM vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (1-1) PHI, 7:10 pm
Peterson faced the Phillies in his last start on April 7, and it did not go well for him. The second-year lefty tossed four innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits (two home runs) while striking out five and walked two. The Mets will be looking for a bounce-back start by Peterson, who posted a 6-2 record last season with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.
Wheeler, a former Met from 2013-2019, is 1-1 on the season. He has beaten the Braves (April 3) and lost to the Braves (April 9). The Georgia native has a 2.31 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP on the young season. In his win against Atlanta, Wheeler was spectacular, throwing seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit, striking out 10 and walking none. In his more recent start against Atlanta, he went 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, striking out four and walking four.
The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 a.m.
Thursday, April 15, RHP Jacob deGrom (0-0) NYM vs. RHP Zach Eflin (0-0) PHI, 12:10 pm
The Mets will close the series against the Phillies with their ace on the mound. In his last start against Miami, deGrom allowed one run on five hits over eight innings, striking out 14 and walking none. DeGrom opened the season for the Mets against the Phillies on April 5, and in that game, he threw six innings, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out seven and walking two. His ERA stands at 0.64 along with a 0.71 WHIP. There’s not much to add about deGrom, who is the best pitcher in the game.
Eflin has started two games for the Phillies, both against the Braves. He’s thrown thirteen innings in those games, and allowed five runs combined in those games on eleven hits, for an ERA of 3.46 and a 1.00 WHIP. Eflin is in his sixth major league season, with a 29-33 record, a 4.60 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.
The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 a.m.
Mets Notes:
The Mets are 2-3 on the season coming into this series.
Third baseman J.D. Davis is on the injured list with a hand contusion. Jose Peraza was called up on Saturday and is available for this series.
Michael Conforto is mired in a slump, with his OPS at .440. He was dropped to sixth in the order for Sunday’s game, though he never got to the plate before the game was suspended.
Brandon Nimmo is off to a sizzling start. His OPS is 1.153 to go with his .565 OBP.
Other Mets offensive leaders as measured by OPS include Dominic Smith (.783), and Pete Alonso (.769).
Edwin Diaz had a rough outing on Saturday, and his ERA stands at 10.80, allowing two runs in 1.2 innings pitched.
The Mets’ bullpen ERA stands at 5.54 thus far in 2021.
Phillies Notes
The Phillies enter the series with a 6-3 record after dropping two of three to the Braves, whom they swept in Philadelphia to open the season.
Philadelphia overhauled its bullpen before the 2021 season. So far, it’s working, as their bullpen ERA was 3.95 going to Sunday night’s game, improved from the 6.92 mark last season.
Phillies’ OPS leaders going into Sunday’s game were J.T. Realmuto (.931), Bryce Harper (.911), and Rhys Hoskins (.906).
Jean Segura, who has a knack for hurting the Mets, has an OPS of .499 in games through April 10.
Reliever Archie Bradley has been placed on the ten-day injured list.
The Mets have to find a way to overcome the intermittent schedule and generate some offense. Manager Luis Rojas had dropped Michael Conforto to sixth in Sunday’s order, and once again in the lineup submitted for Monday’s game.
Francisco Lindor is also struggling with an OPS of .524, and so is Jeff McNeil, whose OPS is .558. The offensive doldrums are essentially team-wide. The Mets will be facing two tough customers in Wheeler and Nola during this series.
This would be a perfect time for the bats to awaken, during a series against a division rival, and before heading to the hitter’s paradise, Coors Field, over the weekend.
