The Mets finally seem to be back, folks. They’re 7-3 in their last 10 games, which includes five straight wins vs. the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians. Now, New York starts a six-game road trip with three games at Wrigley Field vs. the Cubs.
Here are the probable pitcher matchups at the moment.
Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. ET: Kodai Senga vs. Drew Smyly
Lost in the Mets’ first dramatic comeback victory of last week was Kodai Senga’s performance. The Rays are MLB’s best offense right now, yet he was dominant by allowing one run on three hits, three walks, and 12 strikeouts in six innings pitched. This was Senga’s second quality start in his last three appearances.
Drew Smyly hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his past five starts. Three of those were quality starts, including each of his last two. He owns a 1.88 lifetime ERA against the Mets. Two of his four starts against New York came last year, which led to a 1.93 ERA and nine strikeouts in 9.1 innings.
Wednesday at 7:40 p.m. ET: Tylor Megill vs. Marcus Stroman
Tylor Megill also provided a quality start in his last appearance against the Rays at Citi Field. This was also the first quality start he’s had in about five weeks. Big Drip has stuck out exactly four hitters in five of his nine starts this year, including each of his last four trips to the mound.
This will be a revenge game for Marcus Stroman, mostly because he’ll view it as another chance to stick it to his former team. The right-hander has a 3.05 ERA across 10 starts so far this season, with quality starts in four of his last five turns through the rotation. Stro faced New York last year and held them to one run on one hit, two walks, and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Thursday at 7:40 p.m. ET: Carlos Carrasco vs. Jameson Taillon
Carlos Carrasco’s return from the Injured List on Friday didn’t go smoothly. He surrendered five runs on five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts in five innings, putting his season-long ERA at 8.68. Cookie tossed six shutout innings against the Cubs in his lone start against them last year.
Jameson Taillon was nearly a Met this past winter, and now he’s looking to get on track against them. He owns an 8.10 ERA through seven starts, and the Cubs have lost every time he’s taken the mound thus far in 2023. This isn’t how they drew things up on the whiteboard. Taillon has a 2.25 career ERA in 20 innings against the Mets, but this will be his first start against them since 2018.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
