Mets travel to snowy Denver for three with Rockies

The Mets (26-14) will look to overcome their recent injury woes and keep winning as they fly to Colorado to play three with the Rockies (18-19). The Mets dominated the Rockies last year, winning five of their seven games, including two out of three at Coors Field.

The Mets completed a season series win against the Cardinals, as they took three of four at Citi Field and five out of seven overall. It was the first time New York clinched a season series win over St. Louis since 2014.

A Monday rainout resulted in a Tuesday doubleheader, which ended in a split for the two teams. In the opener, the Mets got a run in the second on a Travis Jankowski fielder’s choice ground out and two runs in the third on doubles from Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith, which was more than enough for Trevor Williams. The right-hander and the team’s bullpen combined to allow just one run over nine innings. In the nightcap, the Mets fell 4-3 as their offense faltered in the clutch and Eduardo Escobar’s ninth inning misplay allowed the go-ahead run to score. On offense, Mark Canha and Escobar each hit solo homers off Steven Matz, but St. Louis scored three off Taijuan Walker in five innings. After the Mets tied it in the bottom of the eighth on a Jeff McNeil hit, Tyler O’Neill hit a ninth inning grounder to third that could have ended the inning, but Escobar could not handle it cleanly, and his throw was late, which resulted in the winning run scoring.

The Mets rebounded on Wednesday with a big 11-4 victory, but they lost Max Scherzer for we now know is 6-8 weeks with an oblique injury. Scherzer was great before his injury, allowing two runs (one earned) over 5.2 innings, but after throwing a pitch to Albert Pujols, he signaled to the trainer and removed himself from his start. Canha, McNeil, and Pete Alonso picked up two hits apiece, with the first baseman blasting a three-run homer in a five-run eighth, which put the exclamation mark on the win.

Alonso was just getting started, as he finished off the series with a clutch two-run walk-off home run to lead off the tenth inning on Thursday afternoon. The Mets carried a slim one-run lead into the ninth inning for Edwin Díaz, but two infield singles and a walk resulted in the go-ahead run scoring. On that play, Escobar again missed out on a chance to record the final out. It set the stage for Alonso’s dramatics, as he annihilated a pitch from Giovanny Gallegos in the tenth and sent it into the second deck in left field to send the fans home happy.

With his offensive outburst against the Cardinals, Alonso has now taken over the lead in runs batted in (36) across all of baseball. Meanwhile, his 10 home runs are tied for first in the NL, along with C.J. Cron, whom the Mets will be seeing this weekend. Since Mother’s Day, Alonso is slashing .295/.415/.659 with five homers, a 204 wRC+, and a 0.7 fWAR.

The Rockies enter this series as losers of nine of their last 12 games. Over that span, they lost two of three to the Diamondbacks, were swept by the Giants at Oracle Park, and returned home to lose two out of three to the Royals and to the Giants.

Colorado shocked everyone this winter by signing Kris Bryant, which came after they let Trevor Story walk (and two years after they parted with Arenado via trade). The Mets will not see Bryant, who has been on the IL since April 29 with back soreness. Prior to his injury, he was hitting .281/.338/.351 with an 86 wRC+ and a -0.3 fWAR. He had not hit a home run prior to his IL stint. The Mets will see Cron, who is tearing the cover off the baseball this season. The first baseman shares a tie for the NL lead with 10 home runs while posting a .319/.365/.604 slash line, a 158 wRC+, and a 1.5 fWAR in 37 games for Colorado.

Friday, May 20: Carlos Carrasco vs. Germán Márquez, 8:40 p.m. on SNY

Carrasco (2022): 41.0 IP, 35 K, 9 BB, 3 HR, 3.73 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 0.6 bWAR

After two strong outings in a row, Carrasco had a rough go of it his last time out. He started out strong by retiring the first six batters he faced but allowed a run in the third and three more in the fourth before being lifted in the fifth. In all, he allowed four earned runs over 4.1 innings. The eight hits he allowed was the second-most he has given up in a start this year, and he only struck out two while walking one. With the recent injury issues to the rotation, Carrasco’s role will be that much important over the coming weeks and months.

Márquez (2022): 38.0 IP, 32 K, 11 BB, 7 HR, 6.16 ERA, 4.75 FIP, 1.53 WHIP, -0.2 bWAR

In his first outing of the year, Márquez tossed seven innings of one-run ball against a potent Dodgers lineup. In his next six starts, he owns a 7.26 ERA and a 5.03 FIP, with opposing batters posting a .417 wOBA against him. He is coming off his best start since that opening weekend outing, as he tossed six innings and was charged with three earned runs in six innings against Kansas City. He allowed three hits, struck out six, walked one, and his efforts earned him his first victory of 2022. Interestingly, Marquez pitched twice against the Mets last year, both of which resulted in Complete Games, though neither start was a nine-inning affair. He picked up a CG victory at Coors Field in April in Game 2 of a seven-inning doubleheader, and tossed a six-inning CG loss at Citi Field in Game 1 of a doubleheader. He combined three runs on five hits over those two outings against the Mets.

Saturday, May 21: David Peterson vs. Austin Gomber, 8:10 p.m. on WPIX

Peterson (2022): 19.0 IP, 16 K, 8 BB, 1 HR, 1.89 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 1.11 WHIP, 0.5 bWAR

Peterson is back with the latest round of injuries to the club’s rotation. He’s had a much better go of it at the major league level this year and has become a solid option to replace his injured teammates. His last time out, he pitched five innings and allowed four runs (three earned), which was good enough to earn him a win against the Braves in Game 1 of a doubleheader on May 3. At the Triple-A level this year, he owns a 4.02 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 15.2 innings for Syracuse.

Gomber (2022): 39.0 IP, 32 K, 13 BB, 6 HR, 4.38 ERA, 4.45 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 0.6 bWAR

Gomber was one of the pieces Colorado picked up in the Arenado trade prior to the 2021 season. After posting a 4.53 ERA and a 4.61 FIP in 23 starts before a stress fracture in his back cut his season short, he has gotten off to a similar start, statistically, in his second year with the Rockies. His best start was against the Detroit Tigers on April 23, when he scattered four hits over six shutout innings to pick up his first win of the year. His worst outing came a couple of starts ago, when he allowed five earned runs on five hits over 5.1 innings in a loss to San Francisco. His last time out, he was charged with three earned runs on four hits in six innings against Kansas City, which earned him a no decision.

Sunday, May 22: Taijuan Walker vs. Chad Kuhl, 3:10 p.m. on WPIX

Walker (2022): 23.0 IP, 12 K, 7 BB, 2 HR, 3.52 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 0.4 bWAR

It was a tale of two halves to Walker’s last start. He was super efficient and economical to kick things off, tossing 11, 13, and 14 pitches over three scoreless innings. Once the fourth inning hit, he wasn’t nearly as effective and ended up throwing 28 pitches in the fourth and fifth. This resulted in an earlier end to his night than he (or the team) would have liked, especially in a doubleheader. In all, he gave up three earned runs on seven hits, with two walks and four strikeouts over five innings. He threw a season-high 94 pitches, with 60 (63.8%) crossing the plate for stikes.

Kuhl (2022): 37.1 IP, 30 K, 13 BB, 4 HR, 3.86 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 0.8 bWAR

Of the six pitchers who have started a game for Colorado this season, Kuhl is the only one with an ERA below 4.00 heading into this weekend’s series. He got off to a particularly good start, recording four straight Quality Starts from April 18 throgh May 4. Over his first five starts, he posted a 1.82 ERA, a 3.40 FIP, and a 0.84 WHIP. His last two outings have been a different story, both of which came against San Francisco. At Oracle Park, he allowed five earned runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings. His last time out, he lasted only 3.0 innings at Coors Park, as the Giants put up six runs, five of which were earned. He allowed a season-high eight hits and didn’t strike anybody out.

Prediction: Friday is rained/snowed out, and the Mets win on Saturday and split a Sunday doubleheader.