MMO Game Chat: Mets vs Cardinals, 7:15 PM

Saturday, August 19, 2023 • 7:15 PM
Busch Stadium • St. Louis, Missouri
RHP Kodai Senga (9-6, 3.30) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (6-8, 4.27)
WPIX

Are the Mets making a little post-season run? Probably not, but the Mets have won five of their last six games and have seen their playoff odds on Fangraphs rise from a season-low of 0.7% to 1.9% in just a few days. Last night the Mets got a great spot start from Joey Lucchesi who made his case to stay in the rotation. Lucchesi was starting yesterday so Kodai could get an extra day of rest. If Kodai and the Mets win today, they’ll clinch the series victory in St. Louis.

Mets Lineup

Saturday night in St. Louis. #LGM

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???? @kodaisenga
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— New York Mets (@Mets) August 19, 2023

Kodai Senga has tossed 122 2/3 innings this season with a 3.30 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.288 WHIP, and a 128 ERA+. His last four starts have been more or less indicative of his season numbers, allowing nine runs over 23 2/3 innings (3.42 ERA, 2.50 FIP) with nine walks and 24 strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed a homer in four starts either. Senga pitched against the Cardinals earlier this season and allowed four runs from five hits over 6 2/3 innings, including two homers. Here are the Cardinals’ numbers against Senga:

• Tommy Edman 1-3, 2B, K
• Jordan Walker 1-2, HR, K, BB
• Nolan Arenado 0-3
• Alec Burleson 0-3, K
• Paul Goldschmidt 2-3, HR, K
• Willson Contreras 0-2

Opposing Lineup

Spending our Saturday night at Busch! pic.twitter.com/SIqAen7a4G

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 19, 2023

The Mets bats look to keep their streaks going against Miles Mikolas tonight. Miles has started a league-leading 26 games so far this season throwing 147 2/3 innings with a 4.27 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.280 WHIP, and a 101 ERA+. He’s coming off of an average start against the Athletics where he allowed four runs over 6 1/3. Before that he allowed five runs spread across two starts and 14 innings. He’s already faced the Mets this year who were able to tag him for six runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Omar Narváez 4-17, 2 2B, 3B, 3 K, BB
• Rafael Ortega 6-18, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 0-11, 2 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 4-12, 2 HR, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 6-11, 2 2B, K, BB
• Francisco Lindor 1-8, K
• Pete Alonso 2-10, K

Game Notes

Ron Darling celebrates his birthday today. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2021 and was one of the pillars of the Mets’ pitching rotation in the 1980s. He ranks fourth in team history in wins with 99.

Kodai Senga enters tonight with 149 strikeouts this season. With his next strikeout, he will become just the seventh pitcher in franchise history to record at least 150 strikeouts in their rookie season.

Alonso is hitting .277 (28-101) with 17 extra-base hits, 29 RBI, 17 runs, 13 walks, and a 1.051 OPS in his last 28 games. He was hitting .132 (12-91) with seven extra-base hits and a .549 OPS over his previous 25 games.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Brandon Nimmo hot streak season. Nimmo went 3-for-5 hitting his 18th homer of the season, a personal best. Since August 12th, Nimmo has gone 14-for-28 at the plate with two doubles and three homers, leading to a ridiculous .500/.576/.893 slash line. It’s no surprise that the Mets have won five of their last six games with Nimmo hitting like this. Despite being on base multiple times in each of his last seven games, before last night Nimmo had only scored three runs. Last night he scored twice. Let’s see how long the Mets can ride this streak.
2. Jeff McNeil. McNeil’s huge 2022 kept the offense humming. This season hasn’t been his greatest (.259/.331/.348) but lately, he’s been turning things around. Since August 5th he has played in 14 games going 17-for-53 at the plate with three homers (half of his season’s total amount) leading to a much more McNeil-like .321/.383/.528 line.
3. Rafael Ortega. It’s been a while since all three things to watch for have been offense related (and probably the only time this season that’s been true, and we didn’t talk about Pete Alonso). Since August 7th, when Ortega went 2-for-4 at the plate, he has played in 12 games and gone 12-for-37 with four walks. He hasn’t shown much power at all but he is rocking a .390 on-base percentage with three stolen bases and six runs scored.

Let’s go Mets!

The post MMO Game Chat: Mets vs Cardinals, 7:15 PM first appeared on Metsmerized Online.