Series Preview: Mets Head To Boston For Two Games

The New York Mets (73-77, third place in the National League’s eastern division) travel to Boston to take on manager Alex Cora‘s Red Sox (86-65, second place in the American League’s eastern division) in a brief two-game series beginning on Tuesday night.

The Mets are coming off a homestand that saw them win three of nine games against the Yankees, Cardinals, and Phillies. The Red Sox swept three games from the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park in their most recent series.

Former Mets’ owner, Fred Wilpon, once talked about the importance of playing meaningful games in September. The Mets will be doing exactly that in this series in Boston. However, the games will be much more meaningful to the Red Sox than to the Mets. Alex Cora’s crew is locked in the three-way battle with the Yankees and Blue Jays for the two American League wildcard spots. The Red Sox currently hold the first wildcard spot, which would give them the home game in the one-game playoff. However, they lead the Yankees by only two games, and Toronto by one game in the loss column. This is quite a battle that will play out over the next two weeks.

On the Mets’ side, they remain mathematically alive in both the division (trailing by six games) and wildcard (trailing by seven and one-half games) races, but barely so. The Mets had every chance to get closer in the divisional race last week, when the Braves lost four of five games played. However, after taking two of three from the Yankees, the Mets were swept three games by the Cardinals, and lost two of three to the Phillies.

The Mets have had a rough second half of the season, and as mentioned above, did not capitalize on the mediocrity of their divisional opponents. Since their game on July 17 in Pittsburgh, when the Mets blew a 6-0 lead they held in the eighth inning, the men in orange and blue have gone 24-38. As recently as July 28, the Mets were 54-46, and led their division by five games. They have a record of 19-31 since then. Despite all of this, and losing eleven of thirteen to the Dodgers and Giants in August, the Mets had their chances. They did not take advantage, and with twelve games left, are basically playing out the string.

The weather should hold and enable the games to be played without incident, though there is a chance of scattered showers in Boston on Wednesday night.

Let’s take a look at the projected pitching matchups for the two-game set.

Tuesday, September 21: RHP Marcus Stroman (9-12) NYM vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (11-8) BOS 7:10 pm

Stroman was solid once again in his last outing, against the Cardinals at Citi Field on September 14. He took a no-decision, pitching six innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits. The Mets lost the game in extra innings. The Long Island native is pitching to a 2.88 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 2021.

He has pitched much better than his record would indicate, and been consistent all season. Stroman’s ERA by month:

• April – 1.84
• May – 3.07
• June – 2.40
• July – 3.21
• August – 3.60
• September – 3.13

The Mets are facing a decision on Stroman this offseason (as is the case with several players). Marcus has made a strong case for a hefty contract based on his 2021 performance.

Rodriguez has a high ERA (5.00) to go with a 1.38 WHIP in 2021. He has struck out 165 batters in 142.1 innings pitched this year. The 28-year-old native of Venezuela has a career record of 62-39 over five seasons. Rodriguez started well in 2021, posting an ERA of 3.52 in April. He struggled in May and June, with ERAs over six in both months. He lowered his monthly ERA to 4.71 in July, and has been better in August (3.33) and September (4.02).

The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 am.

Wednesday, September 22: RHP Tylor Megill (3-5) NYM  vs. LHP Chris Sale (4-0) BOS 7:10 pm

Megill was roughed up in his last start, against the Cardinals at Citi Field on September 15. In that game, the native of Long Beach, CA lasted just three innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits. Prior to that start, Megill had probably his best major league start, tossing seven innings of two-run ball against the Yankees on September 10.

Megill has an ERA of 4.57 and a WHIP of 1.29 this season. He had an outstanding month of July (after coming up in June), putting up a sparkling 1.04 ERA. August and September have been a different story for Megill. His August ERA was 6.44, and he has put up a 6.75 ERA in September.

There has been some question about Megill’s workload in 2021, as he has thrown more innings this season than any other in his career. The Mets have said they have no plans to shut Megill down before the end of the season, and the tall right-hander has indicated that he wants to pitch. His final two (or perhaps three) starts will be important for both Megill and the Mets, as the pitcher tries to earn a spot in the 2022 rotation, and the Mets will evaluate his suitability for that role.

Left-hander Chris Sale will take the ball for the Red Sox on Wednesday night. He has won four of his six starts, and pitched to a 2.40 ERA with 31 strikeouts since returning from the injured list about a month ago.

His last time out Sale allowed one run on two hits while striking out one and not walking a single batter over five shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles in his return from the COVID-19 list. Sale has only pitched past the fifth inning once in his six outings this season.

The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 am.

Miscellaneous Series Notes

The Red Sox have a .261 team batting average (third in MLB) and Mets have a .239 team batting average (21st).

The Red Sox have hit 201 home runs (8th), the Mets have hit 165 home runs (24th).

Red Sox team OPS is .776 (third), Mets’ team OPS is .706 (24th)

Red Sox OPS leaders are Rafael Devers (.884), Xander Bogaerts (.878), JD Martinez (.867)

Mets’ OPS leaders are Pete Alonso (.850), Brandon Nimmo (.837). Javier Baez (.824), Jonathan Villar (.760), Francisco Lindor (.725)

The Red Sox have a staff ERA of 4.28 (15th), the Mets’ staff ERA is 3.84 (8th).

The Red Sox and Mets played two games at Citi Field in April, with the Red Sox winning both, including a 1-0 decision on April 28 in which Jacob deGrom took the loss for New York. The Mets will be seeking to return the favor in historic Fenway Park this week.

It’s not over until it’s over. The Mets need to win five straight this week (they go to Milwaukee for three games after Boston) and hope for help from the Diamondbacks and Padres, who play the Braves. The Phillies, who are just three games behind Atlanta, take on the woeful Orioles this week, then play the Pirates this weekend.

It’s clear that the Mets’ chances are not good, but they have no one to blame except themselves for not seizing opportunity when it was there for them.