The Mets showed a hint of life during their first homestand of the second half. Their chances of returning to the postseason remain slim, but they’re not dead just yet. New York will try to continue reviving itself in Boston against the Red Sox.
Here are the probable pitching matchups for the weekend.
Friday at 7:10 pm ET: Kodai Senga vs. Kutter Crawford
This will be Kodai Senga’s second start since the All-Star break. The Mets lost his last appearance against the Dodgers, but he continued to pitch well. Senga allowed one run on four hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts in six innings. Although New York is 1-3 in the last four games started by Senga, he’s posted a 2.24 ERA over that time (24.1 innings).
Is there a better name for a pitcher than Kutter Crawford? I’m not sure. The third-year pitcher has twirled a 3.74 ERA across 18 appearances (10 starts) so far in 2023. He’s also coming off a stellar outing where he one-hit the Cubs over six shutout innings. That was accompanied by four walks and nine strikeouts. This will be his first career outing vs. the Mets.
Saturday at 4:10 pm ET: Max Scherzer vs. James Paxton
While the Mets did their best to try and spoil it, Max Scherzer put together a vintage performance in the series finale against the Dodgers. He allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings, which was accompanied by three walks and six strikeouts. Scherzer owns a 5.51 ERA across 12 career starts vs. the Red Sox, but this will be the first time he faces them since 2020.
After for solid starts to head into the All-Star break, James Paxton started his second half in not-so-great fashion against the Cubs. He allowed six runs on three hits, three walks, and four strikeouts in six innings. This will be the lefty’s fourth career start against the Mets, but his first since 2019.
Sunday at 7:00 pm ET: Carlos Carrasco vs. TBD
Carlos Carrasco gets the ball for primetime on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Cookie finished his first half with an eight-inning gem in Arizona. However, it started with four earned runs on six hits in just 4.2 innings against the White Sox. He owns a 7.47 career ERA against the Red Sox, but the righty hasn’t faced them since 2018.
At the time of this writing, the Red Sox haven’t yet announced a starting pitcher for the series finale. Newsday‘s Tim Healey did say on Friday that it’s likely to be Nick Pivetta in long relief, though.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
