NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: On Sunday, the Mets fell to the Blue Jays, 6-4, completing a three-game sweep at the hands of Toronto…New York is coming off a six-game homestand (3-3) against Philadelphia (3-0) and Toronto (0-3)…The team enjoyed an off day before the start of a six-game road trip to Atlanta (three games) and Pittsburgh (three games).
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday, the Mets reinstated catcher Omar Narváez from the 60-Day IL… Narváez has been on the IL since early April with a left calf strain…In order to make room, catcher Tomás Nido was designated for assignment… Narváezwas 4-19 (.211) with one double, four RBI and five walks in six rehab games between Brooklyn (A+) and Syracuse (AAA).
C IS FOR COOKIE: Carlos Carrasco is set to make his seventh start of the season tonight…Over his last two starts, Carrasco is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA (2 ER/12.2 IP) with three walks and eight strikeouts…In five career games (four starts) against Atalanta, Carrasco is 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA (11 ER/23.0 IP) with six walks and 19 strikeouts.
TURNED A CORNER: The Mets have received eight quality starts from their staff in the last 14 games…New York had eight quality starts through
the first 46 games of the season…Over the last 14 games, Mets starters have posted a 3.06 ERA (27 ER/79.1 IP) with 28 walks and 76 strikeouts.
A STARLING IS BORN: Over his last 25 games, Starling Marte is batting .298 (25-84) with 12 runs, one double, one triple, two home runs, nine RBI, three walks with a .344 OBP and a .405 SLG…He has safely reached base in seven of his last eight games, batting .346 (9-26) with six runs, one double, one triple, one home run, three RBI with a .414 OBP and a .577 SLG.
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUIST: The Mets are taking their first trip to Truist Park this season…New York is 22-30 all-time at the Ballpark…Mark Canha has hit .303 (10-33) with three runs, four doubles, two home runs, four RBI, three walks with a .378 OBP and a .606 SLG…Tommy Pham has batted .275 (11-40) with nine runs, one double, four home runs, eight RBI, 10 walks with a .423 OBP and a .600 SLG…Starling Marte has hit seven home runs in 25 career games at the yard.
HOTLANTA: Jeff McNeil has hit .395 (34-86) with 12 runs, nine doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, four walks with a .429 OBP and a .570 SLG…
In seven games at the ballpark in 2022, McNeil recorded a hit in six of those games, batting .517 (15-29) with five runs, three doubles, one
home run, two RBI with a 1.241 OPS.
PHAM-TASTIC: Tommy Pham went 2-4 with two runs, two home runs and two RBI on Sunday…Over his last 10 games, Pham is batting .360 (9-25) with four runs, two doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBI, four walks with a .448 OBP, a 760 SLG and a 1.208 OPS.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has hit 21 home runs this year, which leads the majors leagues…His 47 RBI are fifth in The Show and lead the National League…Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 427 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468)…
Alonso has appeared in all 57 of the Mets games this year.
THE EAST IS A BEAST: The Mets are 12-8 against the division this year… The team went 50-26 against the East in 2022…Their .658 winning percentage against the East was the best mark in club history.
CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Over the last 17 games, Mark Canha is 14-45 (.311) with seven runs, two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, seven walks with a .426 OBP, .489 SLG and a .915 OPS…He has safely reached base in each of his last 12 games with a plate appearance, batting .313 (10-32) with five runs, two home runs, six RBI, seven walks with a .950 OPS in that span.
D-FENCE: The Mets have committed 20 errors in 60 games this year, the fewest errors in the majors…New York owns a .990 fielding percentage… Their .990 fielding percentage also leads the major leagues. FIRST IS THE WORST: The Mets have been outscored 46-13 in the first
inning this year.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: New York has played 33 games on the road this year, tied for the third-most in the majors…New York is 15-18 with a 4.85
ERA away from Citi Field in 2023…The team’s 277 strikeouts on the road are the third-most in the majors.
ROAD WARRIOR: Brandon Nimmo is batting .354 (46-130) with 18 runs, eight doubles, three triples, two home runs, 17 RBI, 16 walks with a .424 OBP and .508 SLG in 34 games on the road this season…His .354 road average ranks second in the majors…Nimmo owns a career .399 OBP on the road…That is the fourth-highest mark in the majors since the Wyoming native entered the league in 2016.
BROOKS WAS HERE: Brooks Raley allowed four earned runs in one inning of work on April 4 in Milwaukee…Since then he has pitched to a 1.04 ERA (2 ER/17.1 IP) with six walks and 19 strikeouts…Since returning from the IL, the southpaw has not allowed a run in any of his last 10 games, striking out 11 over those 8.1 innings.
IF YOU START ME OFF: New York is 16-1 when their starter goes at least 6.0 innings…The Mets are still 6-0 when the starter goes at least 7.0 innings.
EIGHT IS GREAT: The Mets are 27-0 when leading after eight innings this season…The last time the Mets lost a game when they were ahead after eight innings was on September 6, 2021 at Washington…The Mets were up 3-2 and lost 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth…Since then the Mets have won their last 122 games when ahead after eight, the longest active streak in MLB…It’s the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing the previous high of 117 consecutive games.
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Francisco Alvarez has hit eight home runs this season…That puts him tied for the fifth-most by a rookie in the majors and tied for third in the National League…Only two rookie catchers in Mets history have had more homers in a season…Travis d’Arnaud (13) holds the club mark for home runs by a rookie catcher in 2014…Jason Phillips hit 11 as a rookie in 2003…Alvarez’s nine career homers (one last year) before turning 22 years old are the most by a catcher since Iván Rodríguez had 21 from 1991-1993.
STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets lead the major leagues with an 87.5% stolen base success rate this season…Starling Marte has swiped 17 bags this year, sixth in the majors and third in the National League…His 331 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 340 steals…Pete Alonso has stolen 12 bases in 13 tries in his career.
RISP: The Mets are hitting .237 (108-455) with runners in scoring position, ranking 11th in the NL and 23rd in the majors this year…Last
season, New York batted .269 (371-1,378), good for third in the NL and fourth in the majors.
LATELY: The Mets lead the majors with a 2.00 ERA (12 ER/54.0 IP) since May 29 (span of six games).
BULLISH PEN: New York has six blown saves this season, tied for the fifth fewest in the majors, one behind the league leaders.
CARLOS CARRASCO RHP #59
2023 STATS: 2-2, 5.74 E R A
CARRASCO’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 33.3% 40.2% 27.2% 92.0 mph
Changeup 27.4% 34.1% 21.6% 87.0 mph
Slider 16.8% 4.9% 27.2% 84.0 mph
Sinker 12.1% 8.2% 15.5% 91.1 mph
Curveball 10.4% 12.6% 8.5% 79.8 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win after tossing 6.0 innings at Citi Field against the Phillies on May 31…Allowed one earned run on six hits and one walk while fanning four Philadelphia batters…Pitched to his second quality start in a row, the first time he has accomplished the feat since September 10-15, 2022.
AT THE HOME OF THE BRAVES: Carrasco will face Atlanta for the sixth time in his career…In his last start against the Braves on August 15, 2022, he suffered the loss after allowing three earned runs in 2.0 innings on four hits and one walk… Throughout his career against the Braves, Carrasco has pitched to a 4.30 ERA (11 ER/23.0 IP) and holds a 2-2 record, with both wins coming when pitching at Citi Field…His last win against the Braves was on August 4, 2022, during which he threw 6.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters in a 6-4 Mets victory…Has a 1.93 ERA (3 ER/14.0 IP) when facing Atlanta at home compared to an 8.00 ERA (8 ER/9.0 IP) against Atlanta on the road.
COOKIE’S COMEBACK: In his last two starts, Carrasco has allowed just two runs over 12.2 innings compared to 18 runs allowed across the 18.2 innings he threw in his first four starts of the season…In those 12.2 innings, Carrasco has fanned eight batters, which equals the total strikeouts he tallied in his first three starts of the year.
WINNER, WINNER: Carrasco earned the 100th win of his career on July 30 last season at Miami after tossing 7.2 scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and seven strikeouts…His 15 wins were tied for the eighth-most in the majors…He was the first Met to have a 15-win season since Jacob deGrom in 2017…Joined Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke as the only pitchers with three or more 15+ win seasons since 2017…Won six straight decisions from May 3 (G2)-June 6, matching his single-season career-high from the end of the 2017 season…Was the first Mets starter to win at least six straight decisions in a single season since Zack Wheeler won seven from July 14-August 25, 2017.
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Mets tonight open a three-game series with what is the fourth of 13 games between the teams this season…The two will next meet from August 11-13, playing a four-game set at Citi Field in Queens.
- Atlanta has won two of the first three games this season against New York, winning a series at Citi Field, April 28 to May 1.
- The Braves went 10-9 against the Mets last season, taking the season set from their N.L. East rivals for the fifth consecutive season…They also went 10-9 in 2021, 7-3 in 2020, 11-8 in 2019 and 13-6 in 2018…Since the start of the 2018 season, Atlanta is 53-36 (.596) against New York overall.
- The Braves have won eight of the last 10 games with New York dating to last season, outscoring the Mets 58-32 (+26) over the stretch…Atlanta is 6-1 against New York here at Truist Park in that span.
- Atlanta and New York tied atop the N.L. East with identical 101-61 record last season, with the Braves winning the title based on the head-to-head tiebreaker…The Braves were a season-worst 10.5 games behind the first-place Mets on June 1…From that date through the end of the season, Atlanta played to a 78-34 (.696) record, the best mark in baseball…New York went 67-44 (.604), the sixth-best mark in the majors.
- RH Bryce Elder has never started against New York, but did face the Mets in his only career relief appearance last season…The 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander went 2.1 innings out of the bullpen in that game, allowing five hits and three runs… Through 11 starts this season, Elder is 3-0 with a majors-best 1.92 ERA (14 ER/65.2 IP).
- RH Carlos Carrasco has pitched in five games and made four starts against Atlanta in his career, going 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA (11 ER/23.0 IP)…Three of his four starts came last season, when he went 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA (6 ER/16.0 IP) versus the Braves…The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Venezuela native is 2-2 with a 5.74 ERA (20 ER/31.1 IP) in six starts this season.
WIN: Atlanta scored four ninth-inning runs to rally and defeat Arizona, 8-5, on Sunday afternoon…All four scored on a two-out grand slam from Eddie Rosario.
- Rosario’s grand slam was the fifth in Atlanta history (since 1966) to come with two outs in the ninth inning and give the Braves the lead, and the first since Jeff Francoeur hit a walk-off grand slam off Washington’s Chad Cordero on May 13, 2006.
- Rosario’s was the first such slam to come on the road…The other four all came in the bottom of the ninth and gave Atlanta a walk-off win.
- Atlanta’s win on Sunday was its first of the season in which it entered the ninth inning trailing…The Braves were 0-19 when losing after eight innings prior to Sunday’s victory
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Atlanta took twoof-three from Arizona over the weekend…The D-backs entered the series tied for the best record in the National League with Los Angeles.
- With the wins, Atlanta improved to 16-14 in games against teams .500 or better this season…Per Codify, the Braves are the only N.L. team with a winning record against competition at or above .500.
- New York enters tonight with a 30-30 (.500) record.
BULLPEN: Four Atlanta relievers combined to pitch 5.1 scoreless innings on Sunday and the Braves’ bullpen has not allowed a run since May 30 at Oakland, a scoreless streak of four games and 13.0 innings…The club is 3-1 in that span.
- That scoreless stretch is the longest active in the majors by both games and innings, and the Braves’ longest this season in both regards.
- The Braves’ bullpen last posted four straight scoreless games from October 1-4, 2022, in contests against the New York Mets (2 games) and Miami Marlins (2 games).
- Every National League club, except for Atlanta, has allowed at least one run in relief this month…In June, Chicago is the only A.L. club with a scoreless bullpen.
- The Atlanta bullpen pitched to a 4.11 ERA (90 ER/197.2 IP) prior to the start of its current streak, ranking 18th in the majors…Its current scoreless run has lowered the collective ERA to 3.86 (90 ER/213.2 IP) for the season, 12th best in baseball.
OFFENSE: Braves batters have combined for 13 runs and 25 hits in their last two games, both wins, after compiling just nine runs and 24 hits in the previous four games.
- Atlanta is batting .342/.410/.534 and has seven extra-base hits in its last two games…In the previous four, the club hit .188/.246/.344 and went 1-3.
- The Braves lead the National League with a .791 OPS on the season, and rank second in homers ( 97) and tied for second in total runs (297).
- Atlanta’s offense has combined to produce a wRC+ of 112, the fourth-best mark in baseball and trailing just the Dodgers (115) for highest in the National League.
ROSTER MOVES: The Braves today recalled RHP Roddery Muñoz to Atlanta after optioning RHP Michael Soroka to Triple-A Gwinnett yesterday… Atlanta today also acquired RHP Ben Heller from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for international bonus pool money and optioned him to the Stripers.
- Additionally, RHP Michael Tonkin tonight begins a rehabilitation assignment with the Stripers, LHP Lucas Luetge was outrighted to Gwinnett, and OF Nick Solak was designated for assignment
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP
2023 Record: 3-0, 1.92 ERA • 2022 Record: 2-4, 3.17 ERA
vs. RHB: .257 (36-140), 2 HR • vs. LHB: .206 (21-102), 2 HR
Home: 0-0, 2.06 ERA (8 ER/35.0 IP) • Away: 3-0, 1.76 ERA (6 ER/30.2 IP)
Tonight’s Game
- Set to make his second appearance, first career start against New York (NL) and 12th on the season.
- Enters play with 16 consecutive outings of at least 5.0 innings pitched.
- Scattered five hits and three walks over 7.1 innings pitched of one-run ball with five strikeouts in his last start at Oakland.
- With his last outing, Elder now has 15 games of at least 5.1 innings pitched in 20 career starts; tied for second most in Atlanta franchise history through as many games started…Tommy Hanson has the most with 16 through 20 career starts.
- His 1.92 ERA on the season is the lowest in the lowest in the majors among qualified starters.
- No Braves pitcher was won the ERA title since Greg Maddux (2.22) in 1998.
- Elder’s 2.84 ERA with runners on base is the lowest in baseball among qualifiers.
- Opponents are hitting .173 against him with runners on base, the second lowest rate it the NL and third in MLB (among QS).
- His 57.7 LOB% is the third lowest in the majors (among QS).
- His groundball rate of 57.5% of balls put in play is the fifth highest in the majors among qualified starters.
- Has recorded an out on 65.9% of those grounders put in play, also the fifth highest rate in baseball among qualifiers.
- Is 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA over his last 16 games started after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for the second time, dating to August 14, 2022.
- His 1.83 ERA is the lowest among pitchers with at least 15 starts during that span.
- In that stretch, Elder is averaging 6.0 innings pitched per outing, the fourth highest rate in the National League (min. 15 starts).
- He has five starts in his career of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run, the most such games in Atlanta franchise history (since 1966) in a player’s first 15 starts…Larry McWilliams (’78) and Ian Anderson (’20-21) both had four such starts.
2023 Recap
- Elder’s 2.30 ERA through 20 career starts is the lowest in Atlanta franchise history to begin a career.
- His 117.1 innings pitched through his first 20 games started are the most by an Atlanta player to begin their career since Julio Teheran in 2011-13.
- His 30 earned runs allwed are also the fewest during that span.
- Elder has held opponents to one run or less in seven games this season while pitching at least 5.0 frames in every outing.
- His 11 appearances of at least 5.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to one run or less are the most through a player’s first 21 outings in Atlanta franchise history.
