NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets earned a win in the resumption of Friday night’s game, before falling to the Red Sox in the nightcap yesterday…The Mets have won four of their last six games…New York is 4-8 in rubber games this year…The team is seeking their 13th series victory of the season…The Mets continue a five-game, six-day road trip (1-1) to Boston (1-1) and The Bronx (two games).
DOWN ON THE FARM: INF/OF Ronny Mauricio smashed a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Syracuse an 8-7 win over the Buffalo Bisons…Over the last 11 games, he is 13-48 with six runs, one double, five home runs, three RBI with a .904 OPS… In 85 games at Triple-A this season, Mauricio is batting .295/.340/.511 with 51 runs, 25 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, 56 RBI, 15 steals and an .852 OPS…He is first among Triple-A hitters in total bases (182), second with 105 hits, fourth in doubles (25) and tied for fourth with 43 extra-base hits…He is ranked as the second-best prospect in the organization according to MLB.com.
ON THE UP: Over his last three games, Pete Alonso is 5-12 with three runs, two doubles, one triple and an RBI…Over the last six games, Brett Baty is 6-24 with five runs, one doubles, two home runs and five RBI.
DR. ROBERTSON: David Robertson converted his 14th save of the year in game one yesterday…He is 4-2 with a 2.08 ERA (10 ER/431. IP) with 13 walks and 48 strikeouts in 39 games this year…He is holding lefties to a .190 (15-79) average this year…His 14 saves rank ninth in the National League…His 171 career saves are the eighth-most among active players.
SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON: The Mets face the Red Sox for the first time since 2021, when the they played a pair of home and away games from April 27-28 at Citi Field and September 21-22 at Fenway Park… The Mets have dropped six straight to the Red Sox and eight of the last 10…Overall, New York is 8-11 at Fenway Park (during the regular season. The Mets went 2-1 at Fenway during the 1986 World Series)… Omar Narvaez has hit .346 (9-26) with three runs, one double, three home run and three RBI in nine career games at the yard…Pete Alonso has homered thrice in six career games in Boston.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Mets hit the road for the first time in the second-half…New York is 23-30 on the road this season…The team’s 53 road games are tied for the most in the National League and are tied for second in the majors.
GOOD TIMES ROLL: Brandon Nimmo has hit 15 home runs in 96 games this season…Nimmo’s career-high is 17 home runs, which he accomplished in 140 games in 2018…The left-handed hitter smacked 16 home runs in 151 games last season.
DOING THE SPLITS: Brandon Nimmo is batting .287 (60-245) with 28 runs, eight doubles, three triples, six home runs, 28 RBI, 29 walks, a .377 OBP, .440 SLG and an .817 OPS on the road…This compares to a .226/.332/.451 slashline with 18 extra-base hits at home…Francisco Lindor is a .250 (52-208) with 36 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 42 RBI, 20 walks, a .323 OBP, a .510 SLG and an .833 OPS on the road in 2023…He is slashing .195/.301/.371 with 14 extra-base hits at
Citi Field this year.
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 29-6 when the starting pitcher throws at least 6.0 innings…New York has gone 14-1 when its starter pitches 7.0+ innings and are a perfect 5-0 when the starter completes 8.0 innings.
JULY! JULY! JULY!: The Mets are 10-6 through 16 games in this month…The team’s .625 winning percentage is tied for eighth in the majors and is fourth in the National League…The Mets have posted a 3.52 ERA, the second-lowest ERA in National League in July…Only the Mariners (3.21 ERA) and Brewers (3.51) have a lower mark in July… The Mets have hit 23 homers this July, tied for the sixth-most in the Senior Circuit.
THEY’RE OUT OF MY LEAGUE: The Mets are in a stretch of eight consecutive games against American League opponents.0.They are 3-2 in that span…The new schedule format has New York playing a total of 43 Interleague games in 2023, more than double their previous high for a single season (20)…The Mets are 13-12 against
the American League this year…Overall, New York owns a 248-239 record in Interleague play…The team’s .509 winning percentage is the second-best among National League clubs. INTERLEAGUE PETE: Pete Alonso has hit 37 home runs in Interleague Play since the 2019 season…His 37 home runs against the American League is a franchise record, and the most among any player since 2019…Mike Piazza was the previous record holder with 28 Interleague home runs.
ALL-AMERICAN: Jeff McNeil has batted .316 (108-342) with 45 runs, 16 doubles, seven home runs, 43 RBI, 23 walks with a .367 OBP and a .424 SLG in 92 career games against the American League…McNeil’s .316 average ranks fifth among active players in Interleague games.
SECOND HALF SQUAD: The Mets are 274-240 in the second half since 2015 (not including 2020)…New York has only posted a losing second half twice during that time frame (2021 and 2017)…New York’s .533 winning percentage during that span is the fifth-best in the NL, behind Los Angeles (.628), St. Louis (.598), Chicago (.577) and Milwaukee (.535).
BROOKS WAS HERE: Since returning from the IL on May 14, Brooks Raley has posted a 0.77 ERA (2 ER/23.1 IP) over 28 games…In seven games this month, Raley has yet to allow a run, allowing only three hits and strikng out seven in 6.0 innings…Raley has 19 holds, tied for the second-most in the NL and tied for the fifth-most in the majors.
STEAL MY SUNSHINE: New York has been successful in all 16 of their stolen base attempts in July, bringing their season tally to 77 steals in 84 attempts…Their 77 steals are tied for 10th in the majors and tied for sixth in the NL…The team’s 91.7 percent success rate is the best in the majors…The Mets had a franchise-record run of 35 consecutive stolen bases without being caught from May 14-June 29…Overall, New York has been successful in 51 of their last 52 stolen base attempts.
YOU CAN CALL ME AL: Francisco Alvarez is tied for the lead all major league catchers in home runs and is tied for second among all rookies in homers…He is tied for second in home runs in the majors this month with seven…Only San Diego’s Manny Machado has hit more with 10 dingers.
STARTING PITCHER – CARLOS CARRASCO RHP #59
2023 STATS: 3-3, 5.35 ERA
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 4.2 innings against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field on July 18…Allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five batters in an 11-10 Mets victory.
KNOCKING THEIR SOX OFF: Carrasco will face Boston for the first time this season…Carrasco will be making his ninth appearance and seventh start against the Red Sox in his career…In his last start against Boston on August 22, 2018 at Fenway Park while with Cleveland, he suffered the loss after throwing 3.2 innings, during which he allowed six runs, five earned, on eight hits and a walk while fanning six batters…His one career win against the Red Sox came on June 4, 2014, after throwing 2.0 hitless innings in relief in extra innings, striking out four batters…Throughout his career against Boston, Carrasco has pitched to a 7.47 ERA (26 ER/31.1 IP) and holds a 1-3 record…Carrasco holds an 0-2 record with an 8.15 ERA (16 ER/17.2 IP) on the road compared to a 1-1 record and a 6.59 ERA (10 ER/13.2 IP) when at home.
COOKIE CRISP: In his start against the Giants on June 30, Carrasco tallied a season-high 18 whiffs and six whiffs on four-seam fastballs…According to Baseball Savant, Carrasco also currently stands in the 81st percentile in curve spin.
COOKIE’S COMEBACK: In his starts on May 25 and May 31 against Chicago-NL and Philadelphia, respectively, Carrasco 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 fanned eight batters, which equals the total strikeouts he tallied in his first three starts of the year.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox tonight will play their 100th game…They’ll cross the century mark with a record of .500 or better for the 7th consecutive season (50-50 in 2022). The Sox last night snapped a 3-game losing streak. They own the AL’s best record since 6/30 (12-5, tied with LAD for best in MLB) and since 6/14 (19-12). At 52-47 (.525), Boston is tied with NYY for MLB’s 14th-best record…They’re 2.0 games back from the AL’s 3rd wild card position.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Red Sox won last night’s scheduled contest against the Mets, 8-6. James Paxton started and allowed 3 R (2 ER) in 6.0 IP, with 1 BB and 7 SO…He retired each of his first 8 batters faced, and each of his final 7.
JULY FIREWORKS: The Red Sox hit 5 HR last night, their 2nd most in a game this season (6 HR on 7/14 at CHC). Triston Casas (2-for-3, BB, 3 RBI) recorded his 1st career multi-HR game, hitting a solo HR (417 ft.) in the 2nd inning and a go-ahead 2-run HR (428 ft.) in the 6th. Jarren Duran led off the 1st inning with a HR off Pesky’s Pole, his 2nd career leadoff HR (also 7/1/22 at CHC). Yu Chang hit a game-tying solo HR in the 5th inning. Justin Turner hit a 2-run HR in the 7th to extend the Sox’ lead to 8-3…During July, he’s batting .355 (22- for-62) with 4 HR and an AL-leading 21 RBI.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: Prior to last night’s scheduled contest, the Red Sox and Mets completed the series opener, suspended on Friday due to rain in the bottom of the 4th inning (5-4 loss). It was the Red Sox’ 1st suspended game since 8/7/19 vs. KC at Fenway Park, which was halted in the bottom of the 9th inning and resumed on 8/22/19 (BOS won 5-4). It was only the 3rd game at Fenway Park since 1970 to be suspended due to weather (also 4/16/2010 vs. TB).
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox have won 6 of their last 7 home games, outscoring opponents 47-28 in that span. In 8 home games during July, the Sox are batting .307 with an .861 OPS (29 XBH: 17 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR). At home, the Sox lead the majors in AVG (.289) and OBP (.355)…They also rank 3rd in runs scored per game (5.6) and OPS (.823) and are 4th in SLG (.468).
SOX & METS: This is the 12th year in which the Red Sox and Mets are facing off in the regular season, having most recently done so in 2021…This is the Mets’ 7th time visiting Fenway Park in the regular season (also most recently in 2021). The Sox have won 7 of their last 8 games against the Mets and are 22-15 against them all time.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS: The Sox are in a stretch of 8 straight games against NL teams (3 vs. NYM, 2 vs. ATL, 3 at SF). Following this stretch, they will have only 6 Interleague games remaining (3 at WSH, 3 vs. LAD). The Sox are 5-5-1 in Interleague series this year, including 5-0-1 on the road and 0-5-0 at home…They are 14-20 in games vs. NL clubs (11-6 road, 3-14 home).
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: The 6th annual “Christmas in July” fundraiser, which is being organized by select Red Sox players and wives, will run through Monday, 7/31…
Donations and funds raised will help Boston Children’s Hospital purchase meaningful items for patients and fill urgent needs for patient families and the hospital.
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 2nd in the AL with 17 steals in July (17-for-20)…Overall, the Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 7th in the majors in stolen base % (82.1, 69-for-84). The Sox’ top 3 leaders in steals are a combined 34- for-36 (94.4%): Jarren Duran (19-for-20), Masataka Yoshida (8-for-8), and Rob Refsnyder (7-for-8).
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox lead the AL in doubles (223) and rank among the top 3 in runs scored per game (3rd, 5.0), AVG (2nd, .263), OBP (3rd, .331), and XBH (2nd, 347). In July, the Sox lead MLB in AVG (.290) and SLG (.502), and rank 2nd in OPS (.847), and 3rd in OBP (.345). The Sox have hit 20 HR in their last 10 games, matching their most in any 10-game span this season (also 20 HR from 5/18 through 5/28-G1).
RED SOX OFFENSE BY DATE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/G
3/30-5/6 21-14 .273 .800 5.9
5/7-6/13 12-21 .243 .704 3.8
6/14-pres. 19-12 .274 .790 5.4
HIGH FIVE: The Sox have scored 5 or more runs in 11 of their last 17 games (101 total runs, 5.9 runs/game)… They are 42-7 (.857) when scoring 5+ runs, the 2nd-Best record in the AL and 4th-best in MLB. BOS has recorded 10+ hits in 43 games, 2nd most in MLB (TEX-50)…The Sox are 35-8 (.814) in those games.
PICK YOUR POISON: Since 6/30, Red Sox players own 6 of the AL’s top 20 batting averages (min. 40 PA), including Masataka Yoshida (2nd, .429) and Jarren Duran (3rd, .404). Since the All-Star Break, Triston Casas leads the AL and ranks 2nd in MLB in HR (5; 1st: ATL’s Austin Riley-6).
PITCHING IN: The Red Sox ranked 27th in MLB with a 5.09 ERA at the end of play on 5/15, but they rank 2nd in the AL and 5th in the majors with a 3.83 ERA since then… Overall, the Sox rank 17th in the majors in ERA (4.37). During that stretch that began 5/16, the Red Sox’ ERA leaders are Chris Martin (1.37), Chris Murphy (1.69), and Brennan Bernardino (1.77).
WHAT A RELIEF: Since making his 1st relief appearance of 2023 on 5/21, Nick Pivetta leads the majors (min. 30.0 IP) in opponent AVG (.121) and WHIP (0.81)…In that time, he ranks 2nd in the AL in strikeout rate (38.1%) and ERA (2.25). Chris Martin has made 14 consecutive scoreless relief appearances (13.0 IP), tied for the AL’s longest active streak by innings and 2nd longest by outings (TOR’s Tim Mayza-13.0 IP in 18 games).
IT’S GO TIME: The Red Sox are 7-4 so far in their stretch of 12 straight games against teams that currently own a losing record (3-0 vs. OAK, 2-1 at CHC, 1-2 at OAK). 7 of the Sox’ 11 series from 7/7-8/17 are against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or lower.
ON THE MEND: Trevor Story, Pablo Reyes, and Corey Kluber are currently on rehab assignments with Double-A Portland. Story has made 2 starts at SS and 1 as the DH (2-for-8, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB). Pablo Reyes has played in 11 games for Worcester and Portland, making 4 starts at 2B, 4 in CF, 2 at DH, and 1 at SS (.268 AVG, 11-for-41, 3 HR, 1 2B, 7 BB, 3 SB). Kluber retired 6 of his 7 batters faced on Friday vs New Hampshire (2.0 IP, H, SO).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 83 BRENNAN BERNARDINO – LHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 1-0 2.48 28 3 32.2 9 2 8 35 1.04 .220
CAREER 1-1 2.57 30 3 35.0 10 2 10 35 1.11 .227
Is making his 4th start this season…Has started in 3 of his last 5 appearances (also 7/4 vs. TEX, 7/7 vs. OAK, 7/17 at OAK). Allowed a run in the 6th inning in the continuation of Friday’s game yesterday vs. NYM (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 SO). In his last 17 outings starting on 5/26, has allowed 4 runs in 20.1 IP (12 H, 5 BB, 21 SO).
Has issued 1 or fewer BB in each of his 28 outings. 19 of his 28 outings have been scoreless. Left-handed hitters are 9-for-49 (.184) with 1 BB and 14 SO and a .440 OPS against him, while right-handers are 17-for-69 (.246) with 7 BB and 21 SO.
