Griffin Canning great, Mark Vientos breaks the ice in Mets win against the Cardinals
The righty had his best start of the season in the series opener against St. Louis, but can he stay in this rotation long-term?
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets defeated the Cardinals 4-1 to open the series at home (box | highlights)
After getting scratched from his original start due to illness, RHP Griffin Canning was fantastic against the St. Louis including retiring the final nine batters he faced. His final line was 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K.
3B Mark Vientos opened the scoring with his first home run of the year
SS Francisco Lindor went 3-for-4 with a RBI but did not get credited with a second RBI when Tyrone Taylor scored when he got caught in a rundown
2B Brett Baty continued to show signs of life at the plate and went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI
The bullpen trio of Reed Garrett, AJ Minter, and Edwin Díaz did not allow any hits or runs and walked two batters between them
Roster Moves 📰
OF José Azócar selected to the Major League roster
RHP Max Kranick recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
OF José Siri placed on the 10-day IL with a left tibia fracture
RHP Justin Hagenman optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Frankie Montas (strained right lat) has been playing catch from 90 feet. He hopes to start throwing bullpen sessions in around two weeks.
C Francisco Álvarez (fractured left hand) could return during this homestand. He's scheduled to catch back-to-back nine-inning games at Binghamton on Friday and Saturday.
2B Jeff McNeil (oblique strain) went 0-3 for Single-A St. Lucie while playing six innings in center field. He is expected to play back-to-back games this weekend for Double-A Binghamton or Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Paul Blackburn (knee soreness) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Brooklyn on Saturday
Who’s Hot? 🔥
Over his last seven appearances, AJ Minter has not given up any runs in 6.2 IP while striking out ten
Brett Baty is hitting .318/.318/.455/ with 2 RBIs over his last seven games
Who’s Cold? 🥶
LF Brandon Nimmo went 0-for-3 and is hitting just .185/.267/.444 with 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, and 6 K over his past seven games
Over his last six games, Juan Soto has gone 2-for-21 with two home runs, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored, with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts
Play of the Game ⭐️
Francisco Lindor had a heads-up play in the fourth inning when he waved Tyrone Taylor home while he got caught in a run-down. While he had a great day at the plate, it was Mark Vientos’s home run that could prove far more important.
It was Vientos’s first home run of the year, and after blasting 27 last year, expectations were high for the third baseman heading into the 2025 season. It has been slow going so far for the slugger, but launching one to the opposite field is certainly a good sign. Not only is he not yet hitting for power, he has not been hitting at all so far. Hopefully, that all changes now with one swing of the bat.
The team will need his powerful bat if they want to not only make the playoffs but go far once October baseball begins.
Down on the Farm 🌾
OF Drew Gilbert (No. 11 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 K
RHP Dedniel Núñez (Triple-A): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
SS Jett Williams (No. 2 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K
3B Jacob Reimer (No. 21 prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2B
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (12-7) vs. Cardinals (9-10)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP David Peterson (1-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (0-2, 9.00 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Griffin Canning has been good, but can he stay in the rotation? ✍️
Griffin Canning looked great on the mound in the Mets’ 4-1 win over St. Louis. He got scratched against the Twins due to illness but showed, no, errr, ill effects against the Cardinals. It was unquestionably his best start of the year when he finally completed six innings and earned the win. He gave up one run, struck out eight, and walked two.
His slider was really sharp last night - he generated six swings-and-misses on that pitch and was able to throw multiple backdoor sliders and spot it perfectly on the outside corner to the left-handed hitters. But his fastball was his equalizer, inducing a 32 percent swing-and-miss rate on that pitch over the course of the evening.
Why is that significant? His whiff rate is only 13.6 percent on his fastball all year. So he had a big night with that pitch thanks to some added horizontal run.
Overall, he is 2-1 with a 3.43 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. This is a vast improvement over his woeful 2024 when he was 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA. When he was signed in the offseason for $4.25 million, it seemed like he was destined to be a depth signing or the long man out of the bullpen. But when injuries to Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, and Paul Blackburn opened up space in the rotation, Canning earned a spot by default (he might’ve had one anyway) and has filled in admirably to-date, looking like a solid member of the rotation. His underlying numbers look good, so it seems like this turnaround is legitimate, and the Mets may have unlocked something in him.
So far, anyway.
When everyone is healthy, the Mets will have some decisions to make in this rotation. So, where would Canning fit in when Montas, Manaea, and Blackburn are healthy?
When or if that happens, the Mets would have Canning, Montas, Manaea, Blackburn, Tylor Megill, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, and Kodai Senga as capable starting pitchers. But even with the Mets planned six-man rotation, that’s eight starters for six spots.
It seems logical that Canning (and Blackburn for that matter) would head to the bullpen in this scenario as the long man, and can fill in when needed in the rotation. He does not have any options, so he cannot be sent to the minor leagues, whereas they can send Megill down and keep him stretched out there. This would create a logjam in the bullpen of course, which is a whole other conversation.
For what it’s worth, Megill has also out-pitched Megill this season, so based on merit alone, he should keep his spot in the rotation or in the bullpen.
These are good problems for the Mets to have and a sign of a job well done by David Stearns in the offseason. He had to rework the rotation once again and once again took reclamation projects and so far anyway has turned them into contributing members of the roster.
Of course, it is only April, and a lot could change by May or June when the other arms return, but for now, Canning has proven a trustworthy member of the rotation and is a reason why the Mets have found success in the early going.
Around the League 🚩
After posting an NL-worst 66 wRC+ as a team, the Rockies fired hitting coach Hensley Meulens and replaced him with former manager Clint Hurdle
LHP Patrick Corbin nearly missed his first start of the season for Texas due to a venomous spider bite - he ended up throwing 5.1 IP while allowing one run against the Angels on Wednesday (MLB.com)
Nationals RHP Jorge Lopez received a three-game suspension for throwing at Andrew McCutchen during Wednesday’s game against the Pirates
Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom hit his ninth home run of the year to lead the league to help wipe out the White Sox 8-0
Don't even mention sending Megill down! He's had one mediocre start and otherwise been great, ERA 1.4. I know he may rarely give you more than 6 innings, but combined with what he did late last year, he deserves some respect. Go Baty, back from the dead! On the other hand, when are we going to start talking about reducing Nimmo's role on this team? At this point, I think our chances of winning ballgames would be better with Acuna/Baty at 2nd, McNeil in left.
Anytime a guy can go at least 6 and leave with a lead, it is terrific! As the weather heats up, so will the bats.