Home Sweet Home: Mets back at Citi Field for four with Rockies

The Mets (79-46) are finally back at Citi Field after what felt like a never-ending road trip, as they begin a 10-game homestand with four against the Rockies (54-70). The Mets took two of three from the Rockies at Coors Field when the two teams squared off in May.

The Yankees enacted their revenge on the Mets in the form of a two-game sweep in the Bronx by identical 4-2 scores. Following an emotional win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon, the Mets’ offense was listless all night on Monday, collecting just four hits in defeat. Max Scherzer, meanwhile, was not quite at his peak, allowing runs in the first, third, fifth, and seventh, making it two straight starts allowing four earned runs. The Mets’ offense came in the form of a two-run shot by Daniel Vogelbach in the seventh, bringing the Mets within run. However, Andrew Benintendi’s run-scoring double in the fifth remained the difference, and he drove in an insurance run in the seventh for good measure. Oh, and Aaron Judge hit his 47th homer.

Judge would go on to hit #48 in Tuesday’s game as well. Meanwhile, the offense was again mostly listless, though they tied things up thanks to a Starling Marte run-scoring single in the fifth and a wacky play on a Jeff McNeil double that scored Pete Alonso from first in the sixth. However, Benintendi again drove in the game-winning run in the seventh, while Judge provided the insurance run with a single that brought home Jose Trevino later in the inning.

Alonso really struggled during the team’s road trip, hitting just .154/.214/.256 with one home runs, a 30 wRC+, and a -0.3 fWAR in the 10 games. It could just be late-season fatigue, especially with 10 games in nine days, but he looked lost at the plate and showed his frustration by snapping his bat over his knee following a strikeout on Tuesday. While I am sure Buck Showalter would love to give him a day off to rest and regroup, the team can ill afford to lose any more ground with the Braves breathing down their necks. Had they been in any other division and enjoying a comfortable double-digit lead, I’m sure thay would have happened already. The Mets find themselves just 1.5 games up on Atlanta.

McNeil and Marte, meanwhile, excelled on this road trip. McNeil hit .439/.452/.610 with a 204 wRC+ and a 0.8 fWAR over the team’s past ten games to continue his torrid pace as of late. McNeil currently finds himself third in the NL batting title race with a .321 average on the season, trailing just MVP frontrunner Paul Goldschmidt (.335) and Freddie Freeman (.324). Marte hit .325/.400/.550 with a team-leading two home runs, a 172 wRC+, and a 0.5 fWAR in those ten games.

The Rockies are coming off a series split with the Rangers., squeaking by 7-6 in the first game before getting blown out 16-4 in yesterday’s matinee finale. Prior to that, they took two out of three from the Giants.

The Rockies find themselves in a familiar position, sitting in last place in the NL West. They are 33 games behind the first-place Dodgers, and 13.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the National League. It hasn’t been a good season on either side of the ball for Colorado. They currently find themselves 12th in the NL in wRC+ (91), though they are sixth in OPS (.729), not far behind the Mets’ .737 mark. They also don’t strike out much, as their 20.5% K% is fourth-best in the NL, though their 7.4% BB% is tied for the worst mark in the league. Their rotation, meanwhile, sports a 5.38 ERA, which is second-worst in the NL behind only the Nationals. Their bullpen’s 4.83 ERA is also second-worst in the NL.

Thursday, August 25: Ryan Feltner vs. Jacob deGrom, 7:10 p.m. on SNY

Feltner (2022): 56.2 IP, 49 K, 18 BB, 10 HR, 5.88 ERA, 4.79 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, -0.3 bWAR

Feltner turned in one of the best starts of his young career his last time out, tossing 6.0 innings and holding San Francisco to one earned run on two hits while walking two and striking out five. It was similar to a start he had earlier in the year against the Padres in which he hadt he same line while striking out six and walking one. Aside from a handful of bright spots, it’s been a mostly difficult run for Feltner in his first full season in the majors after a brief cup of coffee last year.

deGrom (2022): 23.1 IP, 37 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2.31 ERA, 0.64 FIP, 0.51 WHIP, 0.9 bWAR

deGrom was pushed back one day after his longest outing of the season so far. In that start, allowed three earned runs, though he still had a great outing aside from a couple of hiccups. He stumbled in the third and appeared to be fighting with himself on the mound as he tried to straighten himself out, and then settled down to retire 12 straight Braves’ batters before giving up a two-out single in the seventh. He was lifted in favor of Seth Lugo, who allowed a single that scored the in-motion runner all the way from first, which helped hand deGrom his first loss since April 28, 2021. In total, deGrom ended up with three earned runs on his record, as well as five hits allowed, and nine strikeouts in 6 ²⁄₃ innings.

Friday, August 26: TBD vs. Chris Bassitt, 7:10 p.m. on SNY

TBD

The Rockies have not yet named a starting pitcher for Friday night’s game against the Mets.

Bassitt (2022): 141.0 IP, 138 K, 36 BB, 15 HR, 3.26 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 3.0 bWAR

Bassitt has been on a tear since the All Star break, posting a 1.85 ERA in six starts. If you focus on just his appearances since the trade deadline, he’s even better, with a nice 0.69 ERA, 2.31 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP in 26.0 innings across four starts—the third-best mark among NL starting pitchers. He’s won each of those four starts to improve to 11-7 on the season. In his last start, he allowed two earned runs on seven hits, striking out four and not walking anyone over his four innings of work against Philadelphia.

Saturday, August 27: Kyle Freeland vs. David Peterson, 7:10 p.m. on SNY

Freeland (2022): 137.0 IP, 99 K, 43 BB, 16 HR, 4.93 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 1.42 WHIP, 0.8 bWAR

Freeland has alternated good and bad starts in August. His last time out, he was tagged for six runs (five earned) on seven hits, with three walks and five strikeouts over 6 ¹⁄₃ innings against the Giants. Prior to that, he went 6.0 innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits, with one walk and two four strikeouts against the Cardinals.

Peterson (2022): 83.2 IP, 97 K, 40 BB, 9 HR, 3.44 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, 1.2 bWAR

Peterson struggled in his last start, resulting in the team’s only loss in their trip to Citizens Bank Park. He lasted just 4 ²⁄₃ innings, needing 100 pitches to slog through that start. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking two. It was the first time he had allowed three earned runs in a start since his outing against the Reds back on July 6. With Carlos Carrasco still set to miss a few weeks, Peterson will remain a fixture in the rotation until his return.

Sunday, August 28: Germán Márquez vs. Max Scherzer, 1:40 p.m. on WPIX

Márquez (2022): 139.2 IP, 115 K,48 BB, 23 HR, 5.22 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 1.43 WHIP, 0.9 bWAR

One year after making his first NL All Star team, Márquez has had a tough season for the Rockies. He currently has the worst ERA and the second-worst FIP among all qualified NL starting pitchers, while his 1.48 HR/9 is the third-worst mark for NL starters. After three quality outing in a row, he was rocked by the Ranger sin his last start, allowing six earned runs on eight hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings. It was his ninth straight outing of six-plus innings so, at the very least, he has been pitching deep into games for Colorado. He lost to the Mets earlier this season, allowing five runs (four earned) on a season-high 11 hits over 6.0 innings.

Scherzer (2022): 115.2 IP, 137 K, 21 BB, 9 HR, 2.33 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 0.94 WHIP, 4.4 bWAR

Scherzer was looking to join a select group of pitchers who had reached 200 wins before 100 losses, but he failed in those efforts his last time out and was handed his 100th career loss. Mad Max, who has been tremendous all season long, especially since returning from his oblique injury, allowed four earned runs for the second straight start, which is a rare and unsettling sight. In all, he was charged with the four runs on seven hits, with a season-low three strikeouts over 6 ²⁄₃ innings. He was hard on himself in game and in the post game, so he should come out firing on Sunday as he tries for win #200.

Prediction: The Mets take three of four from the Rockies.