Mets look to bounce back against Marlins

The Mets (45-26) will try to bounce back from a rough series as they face the Marlins (32-36) in Miami. Last weekend, New York took three of four from the Marlins at home.

The Mets, who had won 16 of the 21 series this year and had not been swept, had that streak come to an end as they dropped both games to the Astros. The Mets sent Trevor Williams to the mound on Tuesday, and it did not go well as they fell 8-2. Things were scoreless through two, but Jose Altuve and Yordan Álvarez homered in the third to put three runs on the board. Things remained 3-0 until the fifth, when Chasen Shreve poured gasoline on the fire in a disastrous appearance. The left-hander allowed four runs in his worst inning of the year, which put the game well out of reach. New York had few answers for José Urquidy, though Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar each hit solo homers.

Wednesday’s game was closer, but the end result was the same as the Mets lost 5-3. Carlos Carrasco saw his first inning troubles resurface, as he surrendered a solo homer to Alvute, a two-run homer to Alex Bregman, and another solo shot to Álvarez to put the Mets behind by four runs four batters into the game. Carrasco surrendered another homer to Álvarez later in his start, and he was then removed with lower back tightness. The Mets scored a run in the third and then put up two in the sixth as they tried to claw their way back. With the bases loaded, Escobar popped up and Dominic Smith struck out to end the best chance New York would have at tying the game.

Following their series loss last weekend at Citi Field, the Marlins returned home and swept the Rockies in a three-game set. They used an eighth inning run in the first game to escape with a 9-8 victory, held off a late Colorado rally to win 7-4 on Wednesday, and scored again in the eighth on Thursday afternoon to win 3-2.

Friday, June 24: Taijuan Walker vs. Sandy Alcántara, 6:40 p.m. on WPIX

Walker (2022): 59.1 IP, 44 K, 17 BB, 3 HR, 2.88 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 1.8 bWAR

Walker is coming off a terrific start against Miami his last time out. He surrendered one earned run on two hits over his 6.2 innings of work to pick up his fifth win of the season. He struck out nine and walked one and was in command all game. Over his last two starts, he has allowed two earned runs over 12.2 innings while striking out 19. He has put together another really strong first half for the Mets and has picked up the slack with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer both on the shelf. He will hope to put up a similar outing against Miami this time around.

Alcántara (2022): 99.1 IP, 90 K, 28 BB, 4 HR, 1.72 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 0.96 WHIP, 4.3 bWAR

Alcántara had a sparkling start against the Mets his last time out, which continued his run of dominance. He pitched 8.0 innings in the outing, making it his eighth straight start in which he went at least 7.0 innings, and allowed two earned runs on six hits, with eight strikeouts and one walk. In doing so, he picked up his seventh win of the season. His ERA is currently third in the NL, behind Tony Gonsolin and Joe Musgrove, as he continues to build his Cy Young case. He has, historically, done very well against the Mets even before this season, and he will look to continue that trend.

Saturday, June 25: Chris Bassitt vs. Trevor Rogers, 4:10 p.m. on WPIX

Bassitt (2022): 82.2 IP, 90 K, 26 BB, 11 HR, 4.03 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.1 WHIP, 1.2 bWAR

His last time out, Bassitt pitched much better than his final line would indicate. He ended up being charged with three earned runs on five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks over 6.1 innings. He held Miami off the board for the first six and went toe-to-toe with Alcántara in a classic pitcher’s duel, but he ran out of gas in the seventh, and that ended up sinking the Mets. He allowed two hits and walked out while recording one out, and Seth Lugo served up a go-ahead grand slam, which brought all three of those runs home.

Rogers (2022): 58.2 IP, 53 K, 30 BB, 9 HR, 5.83 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 1.62 WHIP, -0.4 bWAR

Rogers had a better start against the Mets, but it still resulted in a loss. He went 5.0 innings in the outing and ended up allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits. After walking six in his prior outing, he issued two free passes, and he struck out seven Mets. However, his offense did him no favors, and the runs were enough to sink his team. He will once again look for a bounce back outing as he faces that same Mets’ squad.

Sunday, June 26: TBD vs. TBD, 12:05 p.m. on Peacock

TBD

The hope is that Max Scherzer will make the start on Sunday, but that has yet to be determined as of the publication of this series preview. If Scherzer cannot go, it will likely be David Peterson.

TBD

The Marlins have not yet named a starting pitcher for Sunday’s finale against the Mets.

Prediction: The Mets take two out of three down in Miami.