The Mets welcome the Marlins in hopes of regaining some mojo

The last two weeks have not gone the Mets’ way. After hitting the road following a series win against the Twins, the Mets lost a series to the Angels, won a makeup game with the Cardinals, took two of three from the Rockies, got swept by the Mariners, and lost two of three of the Athletics, resulting in a 5-8 month thus far that, if we’re being honest, needed to at least reverse those numbers if they wanted to make up any ground in the Wild Card hunt.

The Mets currently sit two games behind the Braves for the third Wild Card spot, but are easily the coldest team in the top four spots, with the Padres and Diamondbacks playing their best baseball of the season and the Braves seemingly pulling out of their skid last week.

While the Mets’ bats were in a state of slumber for the Seattle series and the start of the home stand, they scored 15 runs in the past two games, bolstered by memorable games from Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos. So while the results of Thursday’s matinee were, to put it mildly, torturous and frustrating, it was good to see the bats not sleeping. Well, at least not until the fifth inning...

While the Mets restocked at the deadline, the Marlins sold off. Miami has also gone 5-8 in the month of August, but they’ve been doing so with a team of new faces and role players without some of their best players of 2024. There are only two players, both relief pitchers, who are 30 or older, and only 13 players on their 26 man roster have more than a year of MLB service time. This is a very young, untested team at this point in the season and, historically, these are the types of Miami teams that the Mets struggle against.

However, with a heavily depleted roster, the Mets should - key word being should - be able to take advantage of this series and get some of their mojo back ahead of their roadtrip where they face the top two Wild Card teams on their respective home turfs. Offensively, Jake Burger, Jonah Bride and Xavier Edwards are doing a lot of the work for the Fish, with Burger on a crazy offensive tear at the moment (eight home runs in August, including in four of the last five games, with his OPS climbing 73 points since August 1).

Friday, August 16: Sean Manaea vs Roddery Muñoz at 7:10pm ET on SNY

Manaea (2024): 123.0 IP, 125 K, 51 BB, 12 HR, 3.44 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 87 ERA-

We knew that Manaea’s torrid two-game pace before his start against the Mariners couldn’t last, but his three-inning performance in Seattle was bleak, with five walks, four hits, and a wild pitch leading to three earned runs on 85 pitches. The Marlins, despite sharing six letters, are not the Mariners, and Manaea will have an easier task ahead of him.

Muñoz (2024): 74.2 IP, 62 K, 35 BB, 21 HR, 5.67 ERA, 6.74 FIP, 135 ERA-

Despite a season that could be described as “yikes,” Muñoz has thrown two of his best starts against the Mets. In June, he pitched six shutout innings against the Mets at Citi Field, and on July 20th he gave up one earned run at LoanDepot Park. After that start in Miami, Muñoz has given up six, two, four, and three earned runs, never entering the sixth inning. Aside from a good start (the two earned runs) against the Rays where he struck out seven and walked just one, Muñoz has looked very hittable since he last stymied the Mets. Let’s hope that trend continues.

Saturday, August 17: Luis Severino vs Max Meyer at 4:10pm ET on SNY

Severino (2024): 133.2 IP, 109 K, 46 BB, 17 HR, 4.17 ERA, 4.45 FIP, 106 ERA-

Where have you gone, early 2024 Luis Severino? A fanbase turns its frustrated eyes to you.

Over his last three starts, Severino has turned into the pumpkin many of us feared he was when the Mets signed him this past off-season. Severino had a few bad starts sprinkled in his first 19 starts, but the last three have seen him giving up five home runs and lots of hard contact overall. The good news is that Severino doesn’t appear hurt, and he’s still keeping his relative strikeout and walk numbers solid.

Meyer (2024): 36.1 IP, 30 K, 9 BB, 7 HR, 5.20 ERA, 4.94 FIP, 124 ERA-

Max Meyer had three starts in April where he looked pretty solid, and rejoined the rotation at the end of July when he’s been...less than solid. At the beginning of his July 27th start, his ERA was 2.12. Going into his start on August 17th, his ERA is 5.20. His most recent start saw him go as deep into a start as he’s gone this season, but also saw his third-straight game giving up at lest four earned runs.

Sunday, August 18: Paul Blackburn vs Valente Bellozzo at 12:05 pm ET on Roku

Blackburn (2024): 67.0 IP, 54 K, 33 BB, 10 HR, 4.43 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 112 ERA-

Paul Blackburn’s Mets tenure started off nicely, with two six-inning starts with a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. The second start saw three extra-base hits, but it was in Colorado, so it’s hard to tell if that’s a Coors effect or a sign of things to come. However, in his first start against his former team, Blackburn turned into a pumpkin a bit. A short outing (four innings) that was done in by a bad first inning and a three-run jack in the third, this is another start that’s hard to quantify. Was it the jitters against his old club?

Bellozzo (2024): 27.2 IP, 23 K, 6 BB, 2 HR, 2.28 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 54 ERA-

Sunday will mark Bellozo’s sixth big league start, so it is a little harder to judge his career thus far, but he came to the Marlins from the Astros in the Jacob Amaya trade, and worked his way through Double and Triple A in the first three months of the season. His stuff is electric, and he’s had exactly one bad start thus far, which was agains the Red Sox in July. But since joining the rotation full time in August, he’s thrown 19 and two-thirds innings of two run ball.