SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Former Met, Seth Lugo, goes 6.0 innings and earns his 2nd win as Padres rout Braves 10-2 on Sunday Night Baseball
• DH Nelson Cruz had a 3-hit effort, finished a triple shy of the cycle, and logged 6 RBI as he led the Padres to their series victory over the Braves. Manny Machado also had 3 hits, and the Padres saw doubles from Jake Cronenworth, HaSeong Kim, Juan Soto, and Cruz and home runs from Cruz, Trent Grisham, and Kim…their 7 XBH were a season high.
• Starter Seth Lugo earned his 2nd win of the season after tossing 6.0 innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball…he punched out 5 and allowed 4 walks…Lugo has now worked 6.0 innings in back-to-back starts for the 4th time in his career (worked 7.0 IP on April 2 vs. COL), and it’s his 1st time doing so since 2017. Nelly Cruz: 42 years young!
• Last night @ ATL, Nelson Cruz, who will turn 43 on July 1, had his 2nd 3-hit game as a Padre and logged 6 RBI for the 10th time in his career…Cruz made his MLB debut with MIL on Sept. 17, 2005 vs. HOU (at 25 years old), and at 42 years and 282 days old last night, he was the oldest player to have a 3-hit game since Ichiro Suzuki with MIA in 2017.
• He became the 3rd oldest player in MLB history to have a 6-RBI effort, joining SF’s Barry Bonds (had 6 RBI on July 19, 2007 at 42 years and 360 days old) and CWS’ Carlton Fisk (had 6 RBI on Oct. 3, 1991 at 43 years and 281 days).
• Cruz also became the 2nd oldest to ever homer in a Padre uniform (Rickey Henderson was a day older at 42 years and 283 days on October 4, 2001 vs. LAD)… Cruz’s next homer any time after tonight’s contest will make him the oldest Padre to hit a home run. Padres take 3 of 4 in ATL for 1st series win of 2023; have won 6 of last 8 games
• San Diego split the 1st 2 series they played at home vs. COL (2-2) and vs. ARI (1-1), and they took 3 of 4 games from the Braves in Atlanta in their home opening series…the Braves hadn’t lost 3 straight games at home in all of 2022. In the series, the Padres lost a 1-run game, won two 1-run games, and then routed the Braves 10-2 last night on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.
• The Padres have now won 3 straight games and 6 of their last 8.
Darvish vs. Scherzer
• Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer go head-to-head for the 1st time since Game 1 of the 2022 NL Wild Card series, which San Diego won 7-1…Darvish earned the win, tossing 7.0 innings of 1-run ball on 6 hits and 4 punchouts…Scherzer got the loss, getting tapped for 7 runs, 4 home runs allowed, and 7 hits. Tonight’s matchup is the 5th time that Darvish and Scherzer will go head-to-head (including the Postseason), previously on July 8, 2021, August 26, 2021, July 22, 2022, and Oct. 7, 2022.
Let’s reminisce, shall we…
• Tonight is the 1st time the Padres and Mets will face off since Buck Showalter requested the umpires search Joe Musgrove’s ears for illegal substances in the B-6th inning in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series. It was Musgrove’s 1stcareer Postseason start, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings with 1 hit allowed and only 2 baserunners. He struck out 5 and walked 1 in 89 pitches, sending the Padres to the NLDS against the Dodgers (which they won, 3-1).
STARTING PITCHER – YU DARVISH
Davish aims for continued success vs. Mets
36-year-old Yu Davish takes the mound for his 2023 road debut tonight vs. the Mets…Davish enters tonight’s matchup vs. the Mets with a 5-0 record, a 2.56 ERA (15 ER, 52.2 IP), 0.74 WHIP and 58 SO vs. 9 BB…he’s earned the win in each of his last 4 regular season starts vs. the Mets dating back to Aug. 27, 2019. and in each of his last 5 starts if you include Game 1 of the 2022 Wild Card Series at Citi Field last Postseason (7.0 IP, 6 H, ER).
Over his 8 career regular season starts vs. the Mets, he’s limited the opposition to a .162 AVG, the 5th-best mark for any active pitcher against any active team (min. 200 batters faced), trailing only Chris Sale’s .143 AVG vs. LAA), Max Scherzer’s .156 AVG vs. CIN, Shohei Ohtani’s .156 AVG vs. OAK and Jacob deGrom’s .161 AVG vs. COL.
Inside Darvish’s debut
Darvish made his season debut last Tuesday vs. ARI and left the contest in line for his 5th consecutive winning decision vs. the D’Backs after 5.0 innings of 1-run, 3-hit ball…but the Padres bullpen surrendered 7 runs as SD lost their opening homestand finale 8-6. Darvish hadn’t walked 4 batters since his 6.0 hitless innings in his Opening Day start @ ARI to kick of the 2022 season….he also hit multiple batters for the 11th time in his career, 1 shy of the career-high 3 he hit in his first matchup vs. the Mets last season on June 7 vs. the Mets at Petco Park.
A look at Yu’s Spring
Darvish made 3 appearances (1 start) for champion Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic this past March…he pitched 3.0 innings against Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic on Friday, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and no walks while striking out one batter on Friday March 11. He was brought on in relief for Japan’s Wednesday, March 16 win over Team Italy before pitching 1.0 inning in relief again in the WBC championship on Tuesday, March 21 vs. USA. He finished his offseason by throwing roughly 80 pitches across 5.0 innings in Arizona in an intra-squad game on Thursday, March 30.
Stick around a while, why don’t Yu
On February 29, 2023, the Padres signed Darvish to a new six-year contract through the 2028 season. During the press conference, Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager said: “If you see the work he puts in in the offseason, the attention to his craft, there’s no secret sauce for why he’s one of the best performers in the game. He’s incredibly curious, he loves the game, and he works like he’s the 26th man on the roster, when he’s as good as any pitcher in the game of baseball.” It’s been quite the decade Since his rookie 2012 season through ’22, Darvish ranked in the top 10 in a multitude of categories (min. 1,400 IP) including: total baserunners allowed (1,740, 1st), SO/9 IP ratio (10.81, 3rd), H/9 IP (7.23, 3rd), opponents’ AVG (.217, 3rd), XBH allowed (448, 3rd), BABIP (.282, 4th), and pitches thrown per game (99.4, 6th).
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Marlins, 7-2, in the series finale yesterday…The Mets finish their first homestand of the season, a six-game stand against the Marlins (2-1) and Padres (three games)…The Mets are off on Thursday before they head to the West Coast for their second road trip of the season, a 11- day, 10-game trip against the Athletics (three games), Dodgers (three games) and Giants (four games).
AW SNAP: The Mets committed their first error of the season yesterday…That snapped a nine-game errorless streak to start the season…The nine games to start a season without a mistake is a franchise record…The previous high was the 1985 Mets, who did not commit an error in their first seven games…Last year, the San Diego Padres did not commit an error in their first 17 games to start the season, which was the longest time since 1900.
LEGENDARY: Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander swapped places on the all-time strikeouts leaderboard all season long in 2022…Now teammates in 2023, the pair are neck and neck, with just three punchouts separating the two…With 169 more strikeouts this season, Scherzer can enter the top-10…Scherzer now ranks 12th all-time, having passed all-time greats Fergie Jenkins, Pedro Martinez, Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling, CC Sabathia and John Smoltz last season…See below for a chart of the No. 10-19 strikeout pitchers of all-time:
Rank Player Strikeouts
- Greg Maddux 3,371
- Phil Niekro 3,342
- Max Scherzer 3,201
- Justin Verlander 3,198
- Fergie Jenkins 3192
Rank Player Strikeouts
- Pedro Martinez 3,154
- Bob Gibson 3,117
- Curt Schilling 3,116
- CC Sabathia 3,093
- John Smoltz 3,084
MOST STRIKEOUTS, ALL-TIME (NO. 10-19)
DOUBLE THE FUN: Scherzer is tied for third all-time with 110 double-digit strikeout games in his career, two more than Pedro Martinez…His next 10+ K game will break a tie with Roger Clemens, who also had 110 in his career…He’ll then need over 100 more to catch the top two: Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (212).
UNDER THE LIGHTS: The Mets are set to play their second night game of the season and their first at Citi Field this year…Last year, the Mets went 62-42 at night…The team went 33-17 at night in Queens.
CONNECT FOUR: Pete Alonso is on a four-game hitting streak, batting .375 (6-16) with four runs, four home runs, nine RBI and a walk in that span…This comes after he batted .136 (3-22) with for runs, a double, a home run, two RBI and four walks through the first six games.
Rank Player HR GAMES
5th Dave Kingman 154 664
6th Pete Alonso 151 540
7th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
Rank Player RBI GAMES
14th Todd Hundley 397 829
15th Michael Conforto 396 757
16th Pete Alonso 391 540
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has hit 65 home runs at Citi Field… That is the third-most in the history of the yard…Only Michael Conforto (66) and Lucas Duda (71) have hit more…Overall, Alonso has hit .247/.343/.497 in 265 career games at Citi Field.
WALKING THE WALK: The Mets rank third in the majors and second in the National League with 45 free passes this season… Brandon Nimmo ranks second in the majors with 10 walks, while Francisco Lindor is tied for 13th with seven…The Mets have recorded two walks with the bases loaded this season, which is tied for the third-most in the majors…In 2022, the team drew 10.
CITI SLICKERS: The Mets are now 2-1 at Citi Field this year…The team won 54 games at home last year…That their highest total at Citi Field in franchise history..,The last time the team won more than 50 games in New York was in 2000 when they went 55- 26…Overall, the Mets went 54-27 at Citi Field…The team’s .667 winning percentage was the fourth-highest in team history…Only the 1988 (56-24, .700), 2000 and 1986 teams (both 55-26, .679) had a better home winning percentage.
IN THE CITI: Tommy Pham is a .321 (18-56) hitter with eight runs, a double, three home runs, eight RBI, nine walks with a .415 OBP and a .500 SLG in 16 career games at Citi Field…Starling Marte has slashed .292/.351/.486 with 59 runs, 16 doubles, five triple, 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 89 games at Citi Field.
KING OF QUEENS: Jeff McNeil has hit .311 with 128 runs, 55 doubles, four triple, four triple, 25 home runs, 116 RBI and 76 walks in 265 career games at the yard…His .311 batting average is the second-highest by a Met at the ballpark (min. 100 PA)…Only Luis Castillo, .313, has a higher batting average in the history of the ballpark.
CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Mark Canha went 3-4 with a run and a double yesterday…He has recorded back-to-back multi-hit games…Overall, he is reaching base at a .357 rate with a .400 SLG.
CURTAINS FROM CURTISS: John Curtiss hasn’t allowed a run in his last 3.1 innings with four strikeouts and has yielded on run overall in 4.1 innings (1.69 ERA) in four outings.
MAX SCHERZER RHP #21
SCHERZER’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 44% 46% 43% 93.3 mph
Slider 24% 4% 39% 84.0 mph
Changeup 15% 22% 10% 83.3 mph
Curveball 11% 18% 6% 74.6 mph
Cutter 6% 11% 2% 88.5 mph
SCHERZER NEWS & NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings on April 4 at Milwaukee…
Surrendered back-to-back-to-back home runs for the second time in his career…It was just
the 16th time in 423 career regular season starts he gave up as many as three home runs.
VS. SAN DIEGO: Scherzer has made 17 regular season starts against the Padres in his
career…In the regular season, he is 6-3 with a 2.88 ERA lifetime vs. the Friars…He has 150
strikeouts in 109.2 innings, a ratio of 12.35 K/9, and has walked only 25 Padres batters across the 17 outings…He also started Game 1 of last year’s NL Wild Card Series against the club at Citi Field…Scherzer yielded seven runs on seven hits, including four home runs, in New York’s Game 1 loss last October.
DOUBLE THE FUN: Scherzer ranks tied for third all-time with 110 double-digit strikeout
games in his career, two more than Pedro Martinez…His next 10+ K game will break a tie
with Roger Clemens, who also had 110 in his career…He’ll then need over 100 more to catch the top two: Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (212).
LEGENDARY: Scherzer and Justin Verlander swapped places on the all-time strikeouts
leaderboard all season long in 2022…Now teammates in 2023, the pair are neck and neck,
with just three punchouts separating the two…With 169 more strikeouts this season,
Scherzer can enter the top-10…Scherzer now ranks 12th all-time, having passed all-time
greats Fergie Jenkins, Pedro Martinez, Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling, CC Sabathia and John
Smoltz last season…See below for a chart of the No. 10-19 strikeout pitchers of all-time
OPENING UP: Scherzer made his seventh career Opening Day start…Earned the victory as the Mets downed the Marlins, 5-3…Tossed 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and six punchouts…All three runs scored in the sixth inning after Scherzer tossed 5.0 scoreless frames to begin his day…Scherzer exited with the score tied, 3-3, then the Mets rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh to leave him in line for career victory No. 202…He improved to 2-3 in season openers and has a 2.96 ERA (15 ER/45.2 IP) in those games…He became the first pitcher ever to start both for and against the Mets on Opening Day…Madison Bumgarner (Arizona) is the only other active pitcher who has started for and against the same team on Opening Day in his career.
QUITE THE DEBUT: After signing a three-year deal with New York last offseason, Scherzer posted a 2.29 ERA (37 ER/145.1 IP) in his first season with the Mets…That is the lowest mark in a season in his career and the best all-time in a pitcher’s first season with the Mets (min. 140.0 innings)…His 0.91 WHIP was not just the best mark by a Met in his first season with the club, it was the best by any Met in club history (min. 140.0 innings)…Scherzer did not allow more than four runs in any of his 23 regular-season starts last season.
2022 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Won his Mets debut on April 8 in Washington against his former team…Tossed 7.0 one-hit innings, allowing just one run while racking up 10 strikeouts in his Mets home debut vs. San Francisco on April 19…Threw 7.0 shutout frames, punched out 10 and allowed only two hits in his hometown at the Cardinals on April 25, setting the stage for New York’s five-run, ninth-inning comeback rally…Threw 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out a season-high 11 batters in his return from the IL on July 5 at Cincinnati…Blanked the Yankees over 7.0 innings on his 38th birthday, July 27, in a 3-2 Subway Series victory at Citi Field… Defeated Atlanta three times over an eight-start stretch (July 11, August 6 and August 17)… Earned his 200th career victory in the Mets’ playoff-clinching win at Milwaukee on September 19, throwing 6.0 perfect innings in his first start after a two-week stay on the IL.
ALWAYS IMPROVING: Scherzer set a career-best mark with a 2.29 ERA last season after posting what was then a career-best 2.46 ERA in 2021…No other pitcher since 1913 has thrown 130.0 or more innings and posted an ERA below 2.50 in both his age 36 and age 37 seasons…Only five pitchers have done that twice at any point after turning 36: Hoyt Wilhelm (three times – 1959, 1964-65), Eddie Plank (three times – 1915-17), Randy Johnson (2001-02), Dennis Martinez (1991-92) and Babe Adams (1919-20).
