Mets kick off home schedule with three against Diamondbacks

The Mets (5-2) return home after a successful first road trip to kick off the Citi Field schedule with three against the Diamondbacks (2-4). The Mets took five of six games against Arizona in 2021, including all three at Citi Field. In total, New York has won 10 straight at home against the Diamondbacks dating back to 2018.

Opening weekend at Citi Field is always a special time, but it promises to be even more packed with emotion this year. At 10:30am, the club will unveil the Tom Seaver Statue in a ceremony in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda entrance. This statue, which is a long time coming and a celebration of the franchise’s greatest player, will live right next to the Home Run Apple. Once inside, the Mets, like all 30 MLB teams, will commemorate Jackie Robinson Day by wearing number 42. This year marks 75 years since Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier.

After taking three of four from the Nationals to begin the 2022 schedule, the Mets followed it up with a series win against the Phillies. The set got off to an inauspicious start when the Mets blew a 4-0 lead and lost a second straight winnable game. The Mets jumped out on top 3-0 and added an insurance run on a Francisco Lindor run-scoring single early on, and they looked to be cruising towards a victory. Taijuan Walker pitched two perfect innings before being lifted with a shoulder injury, and David Peterson picked things up with four shutout innings of his own. Things were going swimmingly until the bullpen melted down and surrendered fun runs in the eighth, which turned the tables and denied the Mets a win. During the inning, the team also lost Trevor May to an injury.

The Mets bounced back with a 1-0 win on Tuesday. Tylor Megill tossed 5.1 innings of shutout ball in his second straight strong performance in place of the injured Jacob deGrom. On offense, Brandon Nimmo’s solo home run off Zack Wheeler in the fifth was all New York would need, though Lindor’s run-scoring single in the eighth gave the bullpen some breathing room. Edwin Díaz came in to shut the door in the ninth.

The Mets won a slog on Wednesday afternoon 9-6 to take the series at Citizens Bank Park. Nimmo got the party started with a solo shot for the second straight day, this time off Aaron Nola. Pete Alonso was the big offensive star of the afternoon, contributing a three-run home run and three hits while driving in five runs. The Mets carried an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Philadelphia scratched out two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to make it a much closer game than the Mets would have liked. Despite the scare, New York was able to hang on for the win.

Mark Canha has gotten off to a strong start with New York, slashing .381/.500/.381 in his first six games with the Mets. At one point, the outfielder had collected eight hits in 16 at-bats, though he has cooled down a bit since then. Nimmo leads the way with a 1.137 OPS and a .708 SLG while sharing the team lead with his two homers. Alonso, on the strength of his Wednesday showcase at the plate, leads Mets’ hitters with 10 runs batted it to go along with his two home runs and his .879 OPS. Jeff McNeil has gotten off to a strong start after a down year, slashing .318/.400/.455.

Their starting pitching has been the clear standout to this point in the season, however. Through seven games, Mets starting pitchers have allowed five earned runs in 35 innings (1.29 ERA), which leads the majors, along with their 0.69 WHIP. Megill has yet to allow an earned run in two starts, and Bassitt tossed six shutout frames in his first outing with the Mets. With deGrom and Walker both on the IL, they will need those guys to continue to contribute in order for the team to keep winning.

The Diamondbacks arrive in New York after splitting two with the Astros. They dropped the series opener 2-1 before coming back to win the finale by a 3-2 score. This comes after Arizona dropped three of four to the Padres.

Friday, April 15: Zach Davies vs. Chris Bassitt, 1:10 p.m. on SNY

Davies (2022): 5.0 IP, 2 K, 3 BB, 0 HR, 3.60 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.40 WHIP, 0.0 bWAR

Davies had a successful first start with Arizona. The right-hander tossed five innings of two-run ball against San Diego in a game the Diamondbacks would go on to lose by a 5-2 score. He allowed four hits and walked three while striking out two over his five innings and needed 75 pitches to complete his outing. Of those, he threw 43 (57%) for strikes. In eight starts against the Mets, he owns a 5.01 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP in 41.1 innings.

Bassitt (2022): 6.0 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA, 0.81 FIP, 0.67 WHIP, 0.0 bWAR

You couldn’t ask for much more out of Bassitt in his Mets’ debut. The right-hander, who arrived from the Athletics right after the MLB lockout ended, hurled six shutout innings en route to picking up the win against Washington. He struck out eight—the most by any Mets starter in a single outing this year—while walking one and allowing three hits. With deGrom on the shelf for two months or more, he will slot into the second spot in the rotation and his role will be that much more important. If his first start is any indication, Bassitt is up to the task.

Saturday, April 16: Zac Gallen vs. Carlos Carrasco, 1:10 p.m. on SNY

Gallen (2021): 121.1 IP, 139 K, 49 BB, 19 HR, 4.30 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 2.2 bWAR

Gallen was initially supposed to make his debut on Tuesday against Houston, but a ‘freak household accident’ that resulted in a cut on his thumb pushed it back to Saturday. Gallen also suffered from right shoulder discomfort during the spring, which initially cast doubt on his available for the start of the season. Given that, and the truncated spring, it’s easy to imagine that Gallen won’t be pitching deep into the game. Last season, he finished with a career-high 121.1 innings, though his 4.30 ERA and 4.25 FIP were the highest of his career.

Carrasco (2022): 5.2 IP, 5 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 1.59 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 0.35 WHIP, 0.0 bWAR

Carrasco once again was plagued by first inning runs, but he was able to limit the damage to just a solo home run. After allowing a single following that home run, he sat down 15 straight Nationals batters to finish his outing. He didn’t walk a single batter and struck out five over his 5.2 innings of work. It was a very encouraging sign for Carrasco, as both he and the team could use a bounce back year following his rocky 2021 season.

Sunday, April 17: TBD vs. TBD, 1:10 p.m. on WPIX

TBD

The Diamondbacks have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale against the Mets.

TBD

The Mets have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks. This would have been Walker’s slot, so it is likely that Peterson will pitch in place of the injured Walker.

Prediction: The Mets continue their winning ways against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field with a three-game sweep!