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The New York Mets took two out of three against the league-leading Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the week, their first series victory in over a month. Buck Showlater’s team got timely hits from some of their young guys, most notably Mark Vientos and Francisco Álvarez. With Gary Sánchez getting called up from Triple-A late Thursday night, it will be interesting to see how large of a role he plays in his first weekend back in the big leagues.
Pete Alonso and the Mets will be facing off against the Cleveland Guardians for the first time since 2019, a series New York swept in August of that season. The Guardians are off to a slow start in 2023, sitting 3.5 games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins through 43 games. The Mets will get their first chance to see Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario in a different uniform; both were included in the trade that sent Francisco Lindor to New York in 2021.
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Friday, May 19, 2023: RHP Cal Quantrill (2-2, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-2, 8.56 ERA)
Cal Quantrill got a bit of a slow start this season after being a 15-game winner a year ago. The 28-year-old finished the month of April with a 5.40 ERA, but has since been able to regain some of the form he showed in 2022. Quantrill has allowed three runs or less in his last three starts, giving up two home runs during that stretch. He has become more of a pitch-to-contact arm through eight starts, with a career-low 4.6 strikeouts per nine. That will be put to the test against a Mets lineup that is ranked second in the league in strikeout rate (19.8 percent).
Carlos Carrasco is set to face off against his former team for the first time in his return from the injured list. The right-hander has been out for the last month with right elbow inflammation, last pitching on Apr. 15 against the Oakland Athletics. Carrasco made two rehab starts in Double-A Binghamton, pitching to a 1.29 ERA in seven innings of work. He threw four scoreless innings against the Hartford Yard Goats Sunday. The 36-year-old has a total of eight walks in three big league starts. Carrasco will need to avoid that in order to regain some confidence and find his rhythm on the mound.
Max Scherzer. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Saturday, May 20, 2023: RHP Tanner Bibee (1-1, 3.22 ERA) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (3-2, 4.88 ERA)
The 24-year-old rookie has shown quite a bit of promise in his first four starts for the Guardians. Tanner Bibee has three starts in which he has surrendered two runs or less, none better than his last outing. The right-hander gave up one run on two hits in 7 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels last Sunday. Bibee uses the combination of his four-seam fastball and slider over 79 percent of the time, accounting for 15 of his 22 strikeouts. The young arm has yet to give up a first-inning run, so it will be interesting to see if the Mets can make him work early.
Max Scherzer is in the midst of a bumpy start to his second season in a Mets uniform, dealing with injuries and a suspension along the way. The right-hander was able to return from neck spasms last Sunday, allowing one run on two hits across five innings in a win against the Washington Nationals. Scherzer would certainly like to pitch a bit deeper into these games, as he has yet to throw six innings or more since Opening Day in Miami. He has made 20 career starts against the Guardians, owning a 9-5 record with a 4.25 ERA in 125 innings.
Sunday, May 21, 2023: RHP Shane Bieber (3-2, 3.20 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (1-2, 4.76 ERA)
