The Mets were on the verge of winning their first series in June on Sunday against the Phillies. That didn’t happen, as New York snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Now, they come home as a 35-42 club to host the 40-37 Brewers for a four-game set at Citi Field.
Here’s what the probable pitching matchups look like at the moment.
Monday at 7:10 pm ET: Justin Verlander vs. Colin Rea
Justin Verlander has experienced a very frustrating pattern in his recent performance. But if it continues, he’s due for a good outing against the Brewers. He’s at least tossed six-plus innings in three of his last four starts. JV has a 1.90 ERA across 23.2 career innings against Milwaukee, but his last appearance against the club came in 2019.
Colin Rea enters this start with a 4.88 season-long ERA, as well as a 5.13 mark over his past six appearances. He’s allowed eight earned runs over his most recent 10.1 innings. This will be Rea’s second career start against the Mets. The first one came in 2016 when he held them to one run over eight innings.
Tuesday at 7:10 pm ET: David Peterson vs. Julio Teheran
Since Tylor Megill was optioned to Triple-A last week, someone else has to make a start. If we’re going by performance, Joey Lucchesi deserves it. However, the Mets let him toss a bunch of innings over the weekend. So that means David Peterson is getting the nod. He’s posted a 4.86 ERA across seven starts in Syracuse and also got shelled by the Brewers back in April (five runs on five hits, five walks, and five strikeouts in four innings).
Julio Teheran, the former longtime Braves ace, is experiencing a resurgence with the Brewers after a couple of tough years. He owns a 1.53 ERA and 0.88 WHIP through 35.1 innings. Teheran has logged plenty of innings against the Mets over the years, but none since 2019. In 29 career appearances against New York (28 starts), he owns a 2.98 ERA.
Wednesday at 7:10 pm ET: Kodai Senga vs. Wade Miley
The name of the game for Kodai Senga has been similar for most of the year: try to be more efficient and work deeper into games. Over his past five starts, he’s allowed one or fewer walks twice. The other three times, he’s allowed at least three. Senga missed the Brewers during the Mets’ disastrous trip to Milwaukee in April, so this will be his first career start against them.
Wade Miley’s start to 2023 with Milwaukee looks similar to what he did with the Brewers back in 2018. Through 10 starts, he owns a 2.91 ERA and hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 innings of work. Across 42.1 frames in his career against the Mets, Miley owns a 3.19 ERA and 1.39 WHIP.
Thursday at 7:10 pm ET: Max Scherzer vs. Adrian Houser
Max Scherzer looks to continue building upon his last two starts, which have been quite encouraging. He’s tossed 14 total innings, allowing three runs on 11 hits, two walks, and 16 strikeouts. Mad Max will be looking for some revenge, too. The Brewers tagged him for five runs on eight hits (three home runs), two walks, and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings in April.
Adrian Houser’s last five appearances have included three starts and two in relief. His two more recent outings have both been out of the bullpen (four innings on 6/19, one inning on 6/23). This will be Houser’s first start against the Mets in 2023. It will be his third career start against New York. The other two both came in 2022 when he allowed four runs on 11 hits, one walk, and three strikeouts in 9.1 innings.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
