After opening the season with a disappointing 2-5 start, The New York Mets have suddenly been on a roll.
By David Hong
They have now won six straight games as well and they will continue to build momentum this weekend vs the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants will definitely be a tougher opponent than the Reds especially since it’s an even year. The Giants have won the World Series in the last three even years (2010, 2012, 2014). They come in at 12-11.
So this will be a pretty crucial series for the Mets.
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Steven Matz, RHP vs Jake Peavy, RHP
Jake Peavy was a former Cy Young winner back in 2007 with the San Diego. That was nearly 10 years ago. He’s definitely not at that level now and has gone off to a slow start at 1-1 with a 6.88 ERA. However, he did have a quality start his last time up vs the Miami Marlins, giving up two runs in seven innings.
Steven Matz has bounced back nicely from the terrible first start of 2016 when he lasted only 1.2 innings, giving up seven runs. Since then, he’s gone 2-0 and has given up only two runs in 13.1 innings while striking out 17 batters in his next two contests.
Game 2: Jacob deGrom, RHP vs Matt Cain, RHP
Matt Cain who once was a dominant starter has also fallen on hard times lately with injuries and ineffectiveness. So far, he’s 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA this season.
Jacob deGrom returned to the mound on Sunday and pitched decently in 5.2 innings as the Mets were bringing him back slowly on 82 pitches. Should he be effective again, he should go more than that.
Game 3: Noah Syndergaard, RHP vs Madison Bumgarner, LHP
Terrific pitching matchup here. One of the best postseason pitchers in the game vs an up and coming pitcher who hopes to reach that same level in October in the future.
Syndergaard’s success last October is a great start. So far this season, he has taken another step up. Syndergaard’s last start on Monday may have been his worst so far this year and still he dominated at times, striking out nine more batters in less than seven innings.
We all know Bumgarner’s playoff success but he is also a serviceable starter during the regular season too. So far in 2016, Madison is 2-2 with a 3.64 ERA.
Keys To A Series Win
Continue the long ball:
As the season goes on, the Mets have to find a way to score other than the home run ball, especially against good pitching teams. But the home run ball has been kind to them lately and they’ve won a bunch of games with the long ball. Continuing the long ball prowess will definitely help a lot this series and for the Mets offensively.
Hit better with runners in scoring position:
The Mets have struggled with RISP for most of the season but they were a little better in that department the last two games vs the Reds. On Tuesday, David Wright hit the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning to give the Mets a 4-3 win. On Wednesday, Neil Walker had an RBI single in the first inning and Michael Conforto had a two-run double in the seventh inning, to give the Mets some insurance runs. One way the Mets can score other than the long ball is situational hitting.
Players To Watch
Noah Syndergaard
Without question. Every time he takes the mound, it’s a must-see, not only because of his great pitching but how hard he throws. Syndergaard didn’t reach 100 mph in his last start Monday and had a few struggles but he still struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings. That’s how dominant, he can truly be. Going against Bumgarner will be something and a chance to prove that he can beat an elite starter as he continues to mature.
Neil Walker
One of the biggest surprises in this early season. Don’t get me wrong. Walker has always been a solid hitter with some power but he definitely has not gone through a stretch like this power wise. Walker already has nine home runs. Last year. he didn’t hit his ninth home run until the end of July. Walker probably won’t continue this pace but as long as he’s hot, he is also a must watch.
Buster Posey
The star catcher has relatively gotten off to a slow start for his standard, batting .264 with three home runs and seven RBIs. However, he’s still S.F.’s most premier hitter and the one the Mets have to look out for. He always has power and hits well with runners on.
Game Times
- Game 1: Friday, 7:10 PM ET, SNY
- Game 2: Saturday, 4:10 PM ET, SNY
- Game 3: Sunday, 1:10 PM ET, SNY
Predictions
Syndergaard will outpitch Bumgarner, cementing himself even closer to developing as an elite pitcher.
Jacob deGrom after being slowly used in his first game back in a couple weeks, will be fresher and go at least the seventh inning and close to 100 pitches.
This has the makings of a competitive series and yeah, the Giants have won in even numbered years. However S.F. has sort of underachieved at 12-11 and while their lineup is scrappy, it’s not a fearsome lineup yet compared to the Mets who have feasted on opposing pitchers with the home run ball.
The Giants starting staff has also underachieved. Even though Peavy had a good start in his last one, he is not the Peavy of old and Cain has been a shell of himself. Bumgarner’s numbers are respectable but it has not been Madison at his best that we know of.
Meanwhile, the Mets starting staff has been on a role as expected. Syndergaard has been dominant all year, deGrom will go deeper as he slowly comes through and Matz has been terrific his last two starts.
So even though the Mets may be due after winning six straight, looking at how the two teams fare so far, it shouldn’t be too crazy to see the Mets continue their momentum.
Mets will pull off their third straight sweep.