Game Chat: Nationals vs Mets, 1:10 PM

Thursday, July 11, 2024 • 1:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
LHP MacKenzie Gore (6-7, 3.83) vs. LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.58)
SNY • MLBN

The Mets look to complete the sweep of the Nationals this afternoon at Citi Field. On Tuesday, the Mets had to hold on tight to the lead after a bullpen implosion. On Wednesday, the Mets pretty much cruised to victory with everyone doing their part. They’ll look for another drama-free afternoon closing out their second to last series before the All-Star Break.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Brandon Nimmo – LF
3. J.D. Martinez – DH
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Mark Vientos – 3B
6. Luis Torrens – C
7. Harrison Bader – CF
8. Tyrone Taylor – RF
9. Jeff McNeil – 2B

David Peterson makes his 8th start of the season today for the Mets. Over 37 2/3 innings, Peterson has a 3.58 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 1.460 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. He’s coming off a short start against the Pirates, where he only lasted 4 1/3 innings after giving up five hits and walking two, but that only translated into two runs. Before that, he pitched against the Nationals, holding them to two runs on seven hits and a walk over 6 1/3. Since June 17th, Peterson has posted a 3.00 ERA over four starts. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 3-11, BB, 2 K
• Luis García Jr.3-12, 3 K
• Harold Ramirez 1-3
• Keibert Ruiz 4-13, BB
• Lane Thomas 3-12, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Ildemaro Vargas 4-12, 2 2B, K
• Jesse Winker 2-4, 3B, K
• James Wood 1-3, K
• Jacob Young 2-4, BB

Opposing Lineup

1. CJ Abrams – SS
2. Lane Thomas – RF
3. James Wood – LF
4. Jesse Winker – DH
5. Riley Adams – C
6. Juan Yepez – 1B
7. Luis García Jr. – 2B
8. Trey Lipscomb – 3B
9. Jacob Young – CF

MacKenzie Gore has had two poor starts sandwiched around a good start against the Mets. His last time out against the Cardinals, he allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings. Before facing the Mets, he allowed five runs over five innings. Against the Mets though, he allowed only one run over 5 2/3 innings while striking out eight. On the season, he has made 18 starts totaling 94 innings with a 3.83 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 1.436 WHIP, and a 104 ERA+. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-13, HR, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 BB, 2 K
• Harrison Bader 2-6
• José Iglesias 3-6
• Francisco Lindor 2-12, BB, 2 K
• J.D. Martinez 1-6, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 7-9, BB, K (Yes, that is correct)
• Brandon Nimmo 3-11, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-7, HR, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 K

Game Notes

Big news in the Mets minor leagues as outfield prospect Drew Gilbert is back in action for the first time since April. Gilbert is hitting second and playing center field on Thursday for the FCL Mets. Gilbert injured his hamstring back on April 6 while playing for Triple-A Syracuse.

First base/corner outfield prospect Ryan Clifford had a monster Wednesday night for Binghamton with two home runs and six RBIs.

The draft is only a few days away; check out our coverage of the recent mock drafts.

Three Things To Watch For

1. David Peterson gets a lot of ground balls. Peterson has a 53.8% ground ball percentage, putting him in the 91st percentile in the league. We have seen over the last few Peterson starts that he can get himself into trouble quickly and then gets a double play to get out of it. While that’s living a bit too much on the edge, it has been working for him.
2. MacKenzie Gore is the opposite. Tonight, we’ll see a clash of approaches between the starting pitchers. Gore is in the 88th percentile for fastball velocity (average 96.4 mph) and gets a lot of whiffs (30.4%, 85th percentile). Because of this, he only gets ground balls 34.7% of the time, which is good for the 12th percentile). While the Mets struggled against Gore at the start of the month, they did succeed against him in June because they worked walks, got hits, and had a homer leading to six runs over 4 1/3 innings. The big difference? Two strikeouts in June and eight in July.
3. Mark Vientos. Vientos went 2-for-3 in Wednesday’s game with two doubles and a walk. Before the game, Mark Vientos was in a mini-power outage, going five games without an extra-base hit, going 4-for-19 in the process with zero walks and seven strikeouts. Hopefully, the two double games are the start of a hot streak!

Let’s go Mets!

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