NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Dodgers, 5-0, last night… It was the team’s second shutout loss of the season…With a win, the Mets would earn their fifth series victory of the season…With another victory, the Mets would secure at least a .500 road trip…The Mets continue their second road trip of the season an 11-day, 10-game trip (4-1) against the Athletics (3-0), Dodgers (1-1) and Giants (four games).
HELLO OLD FRIEND: Noah Syndergaard will make his first career start against the Mets today…The right-handed pitcher spent six years with the Mets where he went 47-31 with a 3.32 ERA, 166 walks and 777 strikeouts…Syndergaard was acquired by the Mets in a deal that sent RHP R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays in December of 2012.
L.A. MAX: Max Scherzer is 5-5 in his career with a 2.59 ERA (27 ER/93.2 IP) against Los Angeles-NL…He spent the second half of the 2021 season pitching for the Dodgers (L.A. won all 11 of his regular-season starts to end the year)…He is 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA (26 ER/89.0 IP) at Dodger Stadium…He has pitched his team to victory in eight of his last nine starts at this ballpark.
DAY MAN!: The Mets are 8-3 in day games this year…Their eight wins in the sunshine are tied for the most in baseball…The team’s .727 winning percentage is fifth in the majors…New York has posted a 3.86 ERA (42 ER/98.0 IP) with 53 walks and 94 strikeouts in day baseball…In 2022, the Mets went 39-19 in day games.
BROTHERS IN ARMS: Together, Adam Ottavino and David Robertson have combined to post a 0.59 ERA (1 ER/15.1 IP) with three walks and 17 strikeouts…They have converted six of seven save opportunities… They are one of three pairs of teammates who have each recorded multiple saves this season (also, Devin Williams and Bryse Wilson of the Brewers, Carlos Estévez and José Quijada of the Angels).
OTTAMATIC: Adam Ottavino has allowed only one run this season, a solo home run in a loss to Milwaukee on April 5…In eight games this year, Ottavino has posted a 1.29 ERA (1 ER/7.0 IP) with three walks and eight strikeouts…Left-handed hitters are batting .091 (1-11) against him.
DOCTOR ROBERT-SON: David Robertson has appeared in eight games and has yet to allow a run…He allowed only four hits with nine strikeouts…He is holding left-handed hitters to a .143 (2-14) batting average this season…He has converted all four save opportunities he’s had this season…Overall, he has recorded 161 saves in his career… That is the seventh-most among active players.
INVADER NIM: Overall, in 17 games this season, Brandon Nimmo is batting .293 with 10 runs, five doubles, eight RBI, 15 walks and a .447 OBP…His .447 OBP ranks seventh in the majors and fifth in the Senior Circuit…The left-handed hitter has drawn 338 walks in his career, which places him tied for 17th in franchise history with John Milner… Dave Magadan is 16th with 347 free passes…Nimmo has posted a .387 OBP, which is the third-highest in franchise history (min. 2,000 PA)… Only John Olerud (.425) and Dave Magadan (.391) had higher OBP.
I LOVE L.A.: Alonso is a lifetime .356 (21-59) with 12 runs, three doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 17 RBI with a .387 OBP and a .797 SLG in 14 games at Dodger Stadium…All seven of his homers against the Dodgers have come on the road…His .897 SLG at the park is the highest all-time (min. 50 PA)…Brandon Nimmo has hit .346 (18-52) with eight runs, three doubles, two home runs, four RBI, four walks with a .414 OBP and a .519 SLG in 17 career games at Dodger Stadium.
HOP ON THE TROLLEY: In 32 career games against the Dodgers, Nimmo has slashed .312/.402/.462 with 16 runs, four doubles, two triples, two home runs, seven RBI and nine walks…In 23 games, Alonso has hit .267/.320/.567 with 14 runs, four doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 17 RBI and four walks…Francisco Lindor has slashed .273/.333/.409 with six runs, three doubles, a home run, four RBI and two walks.
POWER STATION: Pete Alonso is tied for the major league lead with eight home runs…He is tied for fifth in the NL with 15 RBI, ranks sixth in the league with a .638 SLG and ninth with a 1.005 OPS…Alonso has safely hit in 10 of his last 12 games, batting .340 (16-47) with 11 runs, seven home runs, 13 RBI, six walks with a .415 OBP and an .787 SLG.
Rank Player HR GAMES
3rd Mike Piazza 220 972
4th Howard Johnson 192 1,154
T5th Pete Alonso 154 548
T5th Dave Kingman 154 664
7th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
Rank Player RBI GAMES
12th Daniel Murphy 402 903
13th Rusty Staub 399 942
14th Todd Hundley 397 829
15th Michael Conforto 396 757
16th Pete Alonso 395 548
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS
ROAD WARRIOR: Alonso has hit 88 home runs on the road in his career…That places him tied for sixth place in franchise history with Carlos Beltran…Beltran recorded 88 homers in 434 road games…Next up is Howard Jonson who socked 102 in 580 away games.
THE WALKMAN: The Mets lead the majors with 88 free passes this season…Brandon Nimmo is tied for third in the majors and second in the NL with 15 walks…Jeff McNeil has recorded 11 walks, while Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have 10 free passes each this season.
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STARLING: Starling Marte is tied for fourth in the majors and tied for second in the NL with seven steals…He ranks third among active players with 321 career SB…Only Elvis Andrus (337) and Billy Hamilton (324) have more.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US: The Mets have stolen 20 bases this season, which is fifth in the majors and is tied for second in the National League…Brandon Nimmo, who is tied for 11th in the NL, has stolen three bases in 17 games this year…Nimmo stole a total of three bases in 151 games last season.
D-FENCE: The Mets recorded two errors last night, doubling their season total…Despite that, the team has committed just four errors in 18 games this season, the fewest in the majors…The team’s .994 fielding percentage is the best in the majors…Francisco Lindor has recorded five DRS (defensive runs saved) according to the Fielding Bible…That is tied for the most in the majors.
HITTING THE ROAD: New York is 7-5 on the road his year…The team finished the 2022 season going 47-34 on the road…Their .580 road winning percentage placed them third in the majors and second in the NL…It was tied for the fourth-best road record in team history and the highest road-winning percentage since 2007.
THE SMITH: Drew Smith has 11 strikeouts in 6.2 innings this season… His 14.85 K/per nine among relievers is sixth in the NL (minimum 5.0 innings)…He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (2 ER/6.2 IP) in eight games this year.
TODAY’S STARTER – MAX SCHERZER RHP #21
2023 STATS: 2-1, 4.41 E R A
SCHERZER’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 47% 52% 44% 93.1 mph
Slider 24% 3% 42% 84.0 mph
Changeup 14% 19% 9% 83.4 mph
Curveball 10% 16% 4% 75.0 mph
Cutter 6% 10% 1% 88.3 mph
SCHERZER NEWS & NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 5.0 shutout innings and allowed just one hit on April 10 vs. San Diego as he earned his second win of the season…He walked three and struck out six…It was the 10th time in his career he pitched at least 5.0 innings and allowed one or no hits in a start…Only 18 other pitchers in major league history have done that 10 or more times.
VS. DODGERS: Scherzer is 5-5 in his career with a 2.59 ERA (27 ER/93.2 IP) against Los Angeles-NL…He spent the second half of the 2021 season pitching for the Dodgers (L.A. won all 11 of his regular-season starts to end the year)…He is 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA (26 ER/89.0 IP) at Dodger Stadium…He has pitched his team to victory in eight of his last nine starts at this ballpark.
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 165 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 3,207
- 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)
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.
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).
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
THANK YOU, KERSH: The Dodgers, backed by future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, blanked the Mets, 5-0, recording their first shutout victory of the 2023 campaign. Kershaw fired 7.0 scoreless innings and notched career-win No. 200, while designated hitter J.D. Martinez had a monster night at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBI. This afternoon, with a first pitch scheduled for 12:10 p.m., the Boys in Blue will take on the Mets in the rubber match of the three-game series which also concludes their sixgame homestand (2-3). Following the game today, the club will fly to Chicago and begin an eight-day, seven-game road trip against the Cubs (4) and Pirates (3), beginning with a 4:40 p.m. PT start tomorrow evening at Wrigley Field. J.D. Martinez belted two home runs last night, his 19th-career multi-homer contest and first of 2023. Martinez also matched a career high with four hits for the 15th time in his 13 seasons in the big leagues. The Miami, FL native is tied with Jorge Soler and Matt Olson for the most extra-base hits in the National League with 12. The Dodgers lost their season series with the Mets last year, splitting four games at Dodger Stadium and losing two of three at Citi Field. Los Angeles lost just two series after the All-Star break last season, falling to the Mets on the road and Washington at Dodger Stadium. 2022 marked the first time the Dodgers lost a season series to the Mets since 2015, but Los Angeles has now dropped five of its last seven vs. New York. The Mets have not won a series at Dodger Stadium since taking two of three from Sept. 3-5, 2018.
HISTORIC NIGHT INDEED: Last night, Dodger left-hander Clayton Kershaw became just the third pitcher in Major League history to amass 200 wins with the Dodger franchise, joining Don Sutton (233) and Don Drysdale (209). With the victory, he becomes the winningest pitcher in the 200 club:
Highest Win Pct. -All-Time (min. 200 Wins)
Clayton Kershaw .694 2008-current
Whitey Ford .690 1950-67
Bob Caruthers .688 1885-91
Pedro Martinez .687 1992-2009
Lefty Grove .680 1925-41
Kershaw’s nine strikeouts gave him 2,833 in his career and he blew past Mickey Lolich for sole possession of 22nd on the all-time strikeout leaderboard. No. 22 now needs 22 more punchouts to catch Hall of Famer and former Dodger Jim Bunning for 21st all-time. Bunning, the nine-time AllStar for the Tigers and Phillies, was traded by the Pirates to the Dodgers on Aug. 15, 1969 and made nine starts for Los Angeles.
HOME RUNS TO THE MAX: Dodger third baseman Max Muncy went 1-for-1 with a Dodger season-high tying three walks last night. Muncy’s seven home runs are tied with Rafael Devers for third in the Major Leagues, trailing just Patrick Wisdom (8) and Pete Alonso (8). Muncy’s 15 RBI are tied for fifth in the NL, trailing just Matt Olson (20), Bryan Reynolds (17), Francisco Lindor (17) and Alec Bohm (16). Since April 10, Muncy leads the Major Leagues with six home runs, 13 RBI and a 1.620 OPS. In eight games since then, he’s hitting .400 (10-for-25).
THOR VS. MAD MAX: Dodger right-hander Noah Syndergaard takes the mound this afternoon for his fourth start as a Dodger and first-ever career outing vs. the New York Mets, the team he broke into the big leagues with and pitched for from 2015-21. His opponent, Max Scherzer, went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 11 starts for the Dodgers in 2021 after coming over in a trade-deadline move along with Trea Turner.
DIGGING THE LONGBALL: The Dodgers belted two more home runs last night, thanks to the efforts of designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who went deep in his first two plate appearances vs. Tylor Megill. The Dodgers continue to lead the National League with 32 home runs, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays (41) for the most in the Majors. The club has recorded six 3+ homer games this season and also lead the NL with a .464 slugging percentage, 64 extra-base hits (T-1st) and six triples (T-1st, ML). The club ranks second on the Senior Circuit with 96 runs scored and an .801 OPS.
TODAY’S STARTER vs. METS: RHP NOAH SYNDERGAARD (0-2, 5.63 ERA in 3 GS in 2023)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
• Made his season debut April 2 and tossed 6.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits in a no decision…he is 0-2 on the season with a 5.63 ERA
• Pitched in five games (four starts) during spring ball, going 1-3 with a 5.79 ERA (12 ER/18.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts against just two walks…held a 1.13 WHIP
VS. METS:
• First time facing his old club
