Mets split doubleheader as youth and veteran infusion is upon us
New York splits their doubleheader with the Braves on Monday afternoon. Plus, how an infusion of youth and age should help get the Mets on track.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets split their doubleheader with the Braves, losing Game 1 by a score of 9-8 (box) and winning Game 2 by a score of 5-3 (box)
With the win in the second game, New York snapped their six-game losing streak to the Braves dating back to last season
RHP Denyi Reyes made the spot start in Game 1 and got shelled, allowing five runs in an inning-plus of work
1B Pete Alonso crushed his 11th home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the first game of the doubleheader
3B Brett Baty went 3-for-9 with a home run (2) and two runs scored in the doubleheader
C Francisco Álvarez went 2-for-4 with the go-ahead two-run double in Game 2, the first game-winning hit of his big league career
RHP David Robertson converted his first six-out save of the season and his 6th save of the season overall
The Mets have now gone 25 straight doubleheaders without being swept
Roster Moves 🗞️
RHP Max Scherzer activated to the major league roster
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (16-13) at Tigers (10-17)
Where: Comerica Park - Detroit, Michigan
Starters: LHP Joey Lucchesi (1-0, 2.19 ERA) vs RHP Michael Lorenzen (0-1, 7.07 ERA)
When: 6:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
A mix of youth and age should help get the Mets back on track ✍🏻
Things haven’t gone too smoothly for the Mets to start the year. They lost their closer Edwin Díaz to a season-ending injury before the regular season started, and proceeded to lose more players to injury such as Justin Verlander, José Quintana, Carlos Carrasco, Brooks Raley and more.
A string of bad luck with those injuries and a suspension to Max Scherzer led to the Mets being down four of their five starting pitchers at the same time, which ultimately led to their most recent stretch where they’d lost six of their previous eight games.
As the Mets head to Detroit, however, they are looking forward some reinforcements on the way. The club is actually in a unique position here as the formula to potentially save their season not only involves the infusion of young talent to this roster, but also the infusion of some key older veterans, as well.
The infusion of that young talent is already underway, with the club’s top two prospects in Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty getting called up from the minor leagues in recent weeks. Baty has provided an instant spark to the club, as the young third baseman has hit .333/.381/.538 with two home runs, five RBI, four runs scored and a .919 OPS – all while allowing the team to push the aging and struggling Eduardo Escobar to a bench role. And while the even younger Álvarez got off to a really tough start at the dish, he does seem to be starting to settle in as he’s hit .320/.346/.480 with a home run, double and three RBI over his last eight games.
Let’s not also forget that there may be another pair of youngsters that get the call at some point later this season as 6th-ranked prospect Ronny Mauricio (.948 OPS) and 8th-ranked prospect Mark Vientos (1.182 OPS) are both continuing to tear through Triple-A pitching.
Now that this organization has begun to fill their roster with youth, it has come time for them to re-infuse it with some additional veteran experience. After a 10-game suspension, Max Scherzer is set to re-join the club and make his first start in two weeks on Wednesday in Detroit. Following him on Thursday will be Justin Verlander, who is slated to make his Mets debut after missing a month due to teres major strain.
It cannot be overstated how vital the return of these two veterans is, as the Mets starting rotation has been the number one thing holding the club back over the last few weeks. With the absences of Verlander, Quintana and Carrasco, this team’s depth has been tested in a major way – a test that has largely failed as the club’s 5.21 ERA ranks as the 8th worst in the league for starting staffs. David Peterson, who was viewed as the team’s sixth starter and likely would have made most other teams’ rotations has had a nightmare start to his season, pitching to a 7.34 ERA and allowing the most earned runs by any starter in all of baseball. Tylor Megill has fared better, but has still struggled to miss bats this year and provide the Mets with the innings that they require.
The returns of Scherzer and Verlander, ironically two former Tigers reuniting to face their old club in Detroit, not only gives the club their two aces back but it really lengthens their rotation and should bolster it with the quality innings that they have severely lacked for weeks now. It also inherently provides a positive effect on the bullpen, a unit that has pitched well but has been taxed heavily in the absence of the team’s veterans.
Peterson has already been sent to the minor leagues and the team won’t have to rely on the likes of Denyi Reyes (who allowed five runs in an inning of work on Monday) to make anymore spot starts. In the blink of an eye, New York’s rotation suddenly looks a lot more stable as it could very well be made of up Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Joey Lucchesi and Tylor Megill. And there should be more veteran help on the way down the line as Carlos Carrasco and José Quintana recover from their respective injuries.
It’s strange to say it, but New York really is going to rely on the unique combination of youth and age joining their club to try and jumpstart their season. They haven’t looked all-too exciting in the early goings but as they head to Detroit, the Mets roster is finally starting to look similar to the one they envisioned having going into the year.
Around the League 🚩
Yankees CF Aaron Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hip strain
The pain for the Yankees didn’t stop there, as they blew a two-run lead in the 9th inning and lost to the Guardians, 3-2
Phillies DH Bryce Harper is set to make his return to the lineup just 160 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery
Red Sox RF Alex Verdugo clubbed a walk-off home run vs the Blue Jays for his third game-ending hit of the season