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The New York Mets have fallen to .500 following their rough trip to Detroit earlier in the week. They were swept by the third-placed Tigers, despite having Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander pitch in the series. The Mets have now lost eight of their last ten games and are now six games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the division.

Manager Buck Showalter will be looking for a response from his veteran group, as they head home to face the 12-20 Colorado Rockies. C. J. Cron and Kris Bryant standout for a team that can hit, but their pitching staff has let them down in the early stages of the season. The Mets desperately need to perform well this weekend, as they look to rediscover what was working so well a few weeks ago.

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Friday, May 5, 2023: RHP Antonio Senzatela (2022 Statistics: 3-7, 5.07 ERA) vs. RHP Kodai Senga (3-1, 4.15 ERA)

Antonio Senzatela (knee) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start the series opener in Queens. The right-hander is finally back after tearing his left ACL last August, giving the Rockies a much-needed boost to their rotation. Senzatela did not pitch well in either of his rehab starts at Triple-A Albuquerque, allowing seven earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, which is a cause for concern. The 28-year-old will be making his sixth career appearance against the Mets, going 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA in the previous 25 innings.

Kodai Senga was great to start the year, working through constant traffic on the bases, but he was able to limit the damage. Hitters who were unfamiliar with the rookie were struggling, failing to time his fastball and/or his forkball up on numerous occasions. That has not carried over in his last three starts, as Senga’s ERA has gone from 1.59 to 4.15 during that stretch. The right-hander took the loss in his last outing, giving up two runs on five hits against the Washington Nationals back on Apr. 26.

Walks have been detrimental to the success of the 30-year-old, even in the starts that he has come out on the winning side. Senga is averaging 6.2 walks per nine through five starts, something he most certainly needs to improve on. He has given up five home runs over his last three outings, but still, walks are the bigger concern. Senga will be going up against a Rockies lineup that is tied for 23rd in the league with 89 walks in 32 games.

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Saturday, May 6, 2023: LHP Austin Gomber (2-4, 7.57 ERA) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (3-1, 4.11 ERA)

Austin Gomber has yet to find success since he was traded to Colorado as a part of the trade that sent Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals. The left-hander is 16-20 with a 5.32 ERA in 46 starts with the Rookies since 2021, although the start to this season has been rough for him. Gomber is giving up a career-high two home runs per nine, and his 6.3 walks per nine has caused a lot of problems as well. The 29-year-old will be making his third start against the Mets all-time, going 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA in the previous two.

Tylor Megill won each of his first three starts to begin the year, owning a 2.25 ERA through 16 innings pitched. But since then, it has been a bit of a rough stretch for the right-hander. Megill is now up to an ERA above four after giving up 10 runs over his last three outings. He was effective against the offense of the Atlanta Braves for large periods of his start on Monday, but their bats eventually got to him.

The 27-year-old has been able to pitch every fifth day for this Mets team, which is not something that many others can say at the moment. If Megill can fine tune some of the little things that are creating the big inning, there is no reason why he cannot be a critical piece at the back end of the rotation. He will be making his first start against the Rockies in his young career, so it will be interesting to see who gets the edge on Saturday.

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Sunday, May 7, 2023: RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 4.45 ERA) vs. TBD

Ryan Feltner got off to a slow start this season, allowing a total of 13 runs through three starts. At that point, he had an 8.78 ERA through 13 1/3 innings pitched. But since then, the right-hander has looked like a completely different pitcher. Feltner had two scoreless outings before giving up two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, nearly cutting his ERA in half over the last few weeks.

Limiting the walks has been the biggest reason for Feltner’s recent run of success on the mound. In his first three starts, he allowed 11 hitters to reach via base on balls. That number is down to just four over his last three appearances, helping him be far more effective. Feltner will be making his fifth road start of the 2023 season, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in the previous four.

The Mets have yet to confirm a starter for the series finale, but it does look as if Joey Lucchesi will take the ball on one less day of rest. His last start was the shortest of the early season, throwing a total of 46 pitches in four innings against the Tigers on Wednesday. He gave up four runs on five hits, including two home runs, as Eric Haase and Javier Báez were able to make good contact off the left-hander.

Lucchesi was magnificent in his first start out in San Francisco back on Apr. 21, throwing seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Since then, he has surrendered seven runs on ten hits over his last 9 1/3 innings pitched. Like many of the other pitchers in the Mets rotation, Lucchesi will be looking for much better results at home. The 29-year-old has made 11 career starts against the Rockies, going 2-4 with a 4.47 ERA in 52 1/3 innings.