NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Cardinals, 7-1, last night…The Mets have won three straight and four of their last five games…New York is seeking their 15th series victory of the season tonight…The Mets continue a seven-game road trip (2-0) to St. Louis (2-0) and Atlanta (three games).
ONE AWAY: 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…Senga is six strikeouts away from passing Gary Gentry for sixth place among rookie pitchers in team history (Gentry had 154 in 1969)…His next strikeout will also make him the fifth pitcher of Japanese origin to post at least 150 strikeouts as a rookie, joining Hideo Nomo (236 in 1995), Yu Darvish (221 in 2012), Daisuke Matsuzaka (201 in 2007), and Kenta Maeda (179 in 2016)…Courtesy of sportsradar.
SENGA GENISIS: Kodai Senga improved to 9-6 and has posted a 3.30 ERA (45 ER/122.2 IP) with 59 walks and 149 strikeouts…He ranks sixth in the National League in ERA and 10th in strikeouts,…His 149 strikeouts through 22 career starts is the third-most in franchise history…Only Dwight Gooden (171) and Matt Harvey (159) have struck out more…His 149 punchouts are the fourthmost by a Japanese born player through 22 career starts…He trails Hideo Nomo (194), Yu Darvish (162) and Masahiro Tanaka (151).
JEFF McHITS: Jeff McNeil has safely hit in 12 of his last 14 games, batting .321 (17-53) with 10 runs, two doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, and four walks with a .383 OBP in that span…In 33 games following the All-Star break, McNeil is batting .273 (35-128) with 19 runs, five doubles, one triple, three home runs, 19 RBI, seven walks with a .333 OBP…He has struck out only 11 times in 141 plate appearances following the All-Star break.
RAFAEL IS COOL BUT CRUDE: In 17 games with the Mets, Rafael Ortega is hitting .269 (14-52) with eight runs, two doubles, three RBI, six walks, three steals with a .345 OBP…Over his last six games, he is batting .421 (8-19) with six runs, one doubles, three RBI, two walks and one steal.
HANG 10: Brandon Nimmo is on a 10-game hitting streak, which is tied for the second-longest of his career…He is batting .436 (17-39) with five runs, two doubles, three home runs, seven walks, four RBI with a 1.240 OPS in that span…He has slugged his 18 homers this season, setting a new single-season career-high mark.
IT STARTED OUT WITH KISS: Brandon Nimmo belted the 11th leadoff home run of his career and the fourth of the season last night…His 11 leadoff home runs are the third-most in club history…Curtis Granderson and José Reyes are tied atop the franchise leader board with 21 leadoff home runs each.
TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT: Nimmo is batting .296 (45-152) with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 13 RBI, 12 walks with a .366 OBP and a .421 SLG against left-handed pitchers this year…His .296 average is the ninth best in the majors by a left-handed hitter against fellow lefties.
THIS IS ALMOST 40: Pete Alonso is third in the majors and second in the National League in home runs…Alonso has recorded 40 or more home runs twice in his career…He socked 53 in 2019 and 40 last season…He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs… Since he entered the league in 2019, only two other players have recorded multiple seasons with 40 or more home runs (Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout)…Alonso’s 183 home runs since he entered the league in 2019 are the most in the major leagues.
THE ROAD TO 100: Pete Alonso is third in the majors and in the NL with 91 RBI…He has previously recorded two seasons with 100 RBI (120 in 2019 and 131 in 2022)…He is seeking to become the fourth player in Mets history to record three or more seasons with 100 or more RBI…David Wright is the franchise leader with five such seasons…Carlos Beltrán and Darryl Strawberry recorded three seasons each.
RANK PLAYER HR
- Darryl Strawberry 252
- David Wright 242
- Mike Piazza 220
- Howard Johnson 192
- Pete Alonso 183
RANK PLAYER RBI
- Carlos Beltrán 559
- Edgardo Alfonzo 538
T8. Cleon Jones 521
T8. Jose Reyes 521 - Pete Alonso 471
METS CAREER LEADERS
SLIPPERY PETE: 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 (since his return from the IL on June 18).
THE SOUND OF REFRESHMENT: Rafael Ortega is a lifetime .360 (18-50) hitter with four runs, two doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBI and three walks with a .396 OBP and a .500 SLG in 15 career games at Busch Stadium…Pete Alonso has gone 13-41 (.317) with nine runs, two doubles, two triples, one home run, three RBI and eight walks in 12 career games at the ballpark…Omar Narváez has appeared in 14 games at the yard and is 16-50 with three doubles, one triple and four RBI.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Mets are 26-38 on the road this year…They have posted a 4.82 ERA in away games…New York has played 64 games on the road this year…That is tied for the most in the majors.
DOING THE SPLITS: Brandon Nimmo is batting .298 (70-235) with 34 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 30 RBI, 33 walks, a .385 OBP and a .460 SLG on the road this season…This compares to a .238/.345/.444 slashline with 21 extra-base hits at home…Francisco Lindor is a .265 (66-249) with 44 runs, 18 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 49 RBI, 24 walks, a .338 OBP, and a .510 SLG on the road in 2023…He is slashing .223/.322/.398 with 18 extra-base hits at Citi Field this year.
I DECLARE fWAR: Francisco Lindor ranks 10th in the majors and fifth in the National League with a 4.6 fWAR…Since he joined the Mets, Lindor has posted a 15.7 fWAR…Only Freddie Freeman (17.9) and Mookie Betts (16.6) have posted a higher mark in the Senior Circuit…His 15.6 fWAR since 2021 ranks fifth in the majors in that span.
LINSANITY: Lindor is on a five-game hitting streak, batting .333 (7-21) in that span with four runs, two doubles, four RBI and a walk…Over his last 51 games, he is batting .295 (56-190) with 38 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 30 RBI, 26 walks, 14 steals with a .385 OBP, a .526 SLG and a .911 OPS…Lindor has stolen 20 bases in 121games this season, exceeding his total from 2022 (16 steals in 161 games)…His career-best is 25 steals 158 games in 2018.
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 36-10 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.
STARTING PITCHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
2023 STATS: 9-6, 3.30 ERA
METS ROOKIE MILESTONE WATCH: With his next strikeout, Senga would join Noah Syndergaard (2015), Dwight Gooden (1984), Jon Matlack (1972), Gary Gentry (1969), Jerry Koosman (1968) and Tom Seaver (1967) as the only Mets relief pitchers to reach 150 strikeouts in a season…With his next win, Senga would become the 11th Met rookie to reach 10 wins in a season and the first since Dillon Gee in 2011.
SENGA GENESIS: Has recorded 149 strikeouts through his first 22 career major league games, the third-most by a Mets pitcher in franchise history…Only Dwight Gooden (171), and Matt Harvey (159) have recorded more in their first 21 career starts…His 142 strikeouts are the fourth-most by a Japanese born pitcher through
21 career games…He trails only Hideo Nomo (205), Yu Darvish (162) and Masahiro Tanaka (151)… Senga’s 3.30 ERA is the ninth-best mark by a Mets pitcher through their first 22 career major league games (Min. 100.0 IP).
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: On July 8, Major League Baseball announced that Kodai Senga was added to the National League All-Star team, which took place on July 11 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle…Senga joined Pete Alonso (2019), Dwight Gooden (1984), Jerry Koosman (1968) and Tom Seaver as the only Mets rookies selected to an All-Star Game…He is the eighth Japanese-Born rookie ever to be selected to an All-Star Game joining Masahiro Tanaka (2014), Yu Darvish (2012), Kosuke Fukudome (2008), Hideki Okajima (2007), Hideki Matsui (2003), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Hideo Nomo (1995).
KODAI THE FRIENDLY GHOST: Senga’s nine wins are tied for the most among all major league rookies this season and his 149 strikeouts are the most by any rookie…Among rookies with 50.0 or more innings pitched, Senga is third in the majors and second in the NL with a 10.93 SO/9 rate and fourth in the majors in opponent’s average (.217).
PUTTING THE K IN FORK: Senga’s “ghost fork” has accounted for 79 of his 149 strikeouts through 22 starts…The pitch has a 58.4 percent whiff rate and a 27.2 percent putaway rate…Opponents have managed just 16 hits in 121 at-bats ending with the forkball, a .132 batting average.
SHUT ‘EM OUT: On May 30 against the Phillies, Senga became the 10th rookie in franchise history to throw 7.0 or more innings, while one hit or less and was the first Met since Steven Matz did so on August 14, 2016…Joins Jonathon Niese, who tossed a complete game shutout on June 10, 2010, as the only Mets rookie to accomplish the feat without allowing a walk.
ALL I DO IS WIN: Senga became the only Japanese-born pitchers to start their career 3-0 and is the fourth player in franchise history to earn the win in their first two career major league starts, joining Steven Matz, Mike Pelfrey and Gary Gentry…Additionally, he joins Kazuhisa Ishii, Hideki Irabu and Koji Uehara as the only Japanese-born pitchers to win each of their first two career major league starts…Senga fell just shy of becoming the second Mets starting pitcher ever to begin his career 4-0, a record held by Steven Matz.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets play the third game of a four-game weekend series tonight at Busch Stadium … St. Louis is 2-4 on its seven-game homestand against the Oakland Athletics (2-1) and New York Mets (0-2), teams with lowest ($56.8 million) and highest ($330.6 million) Opening Day payrolls in MLB this season … After tomorrow’s game, the Cardinals embark on a seven-day, six-game Pennsylvania road trip through Pittsburgh (Mon.-Wed) and Philadelphia (Fri.-Sun).
FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter the day in 5th place in the NL Central, 12.0 games out of first and 10.0 games back in the NL Wild Card chase …St. Louis has spent 103 of 138 days in last place on the MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 51-72 (.415) after 123 games … St. Louis needs to go 27-12 (.692) over the remaining 39 games to finish at .500.
ZUÑIGA RECALLED: The Cardinals recalled RHP Guillermo Zuñiga from Memphis (AAA) and optioned RHP James Naile to Memphis … The 24-yearold right-handed Zuñiga has appeared in one game for St. Louis this season, striking out Chad Wallach and Mike Trout in 1.0 scoreless inning on May 2 … Zuñiga is 0-2 with a 7.85 ERA (28.2 IP), five saves, and 36 strikeouts in 28 games at Memphis this season.
WINSANITY: Masyn Winn (age 21-150) last night became the 11th starting MLB shortstop since 2000 age 21.150 or younger to record a hit in his MLB debut and the 4th-youngest Cardinals starting shortstop to do so behind Garry Templeton (20-138) on Aug. 9, 1976, Creepy Crespi (20.210) on Sept. 14, 1938, and Tommy Thevenow (20.364) on Sept. 4, 1924.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE: This season, Gold Glover Tommy Edman has appeared defensively at shortstop (44G), center field (30G), and right field (8G), and tonight will appear in his 30th game at second base to join Pittsburgh’s Ji Hwan Bae (44 at 2B and 44 in CF) as the only two Major Leaguers this season to have appeared in 30+ games at both second base and center field this season … Prior to Edman, the only two Cardinals in franchise history to have done so were Tommy Dowd (48 at 2B and 78 in CF) in 1896 and Joe Delahanty (47 at 2B and 46 in CF) in 1909 … Including Edman’s 44 games at shortstop this season, Tommy has already become the only player in MLB history to play 27 or more games at second base, shortstop, and center field in a single season.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP MILES MIKOLAS (6-8, 4.27)
TONIGHT’S GAME Leads MLB NL Ranks: Games Started (26, T-1st), Innings Pitched (147.2, 7th), Hits Allowed (160, 2nd), Walks/9 IP (1.77, 2nd), HR/9 IP (0.85, 4th).
- The 2022 N.L. All-Star & the team’s Opening Day starter for 2023 is making his MLB-leading 27th start of 2023, 170th career appearance & 142nd career start.
- Has lost three-straight decisions and the Cardinals are just 3-11 in his 14 games started since June 4. He’s had 5 Quality Starts in that span and logged 6.0+ IP nine times.
- Received no more than 3 runs of support in 19 of 26 starts this season, including just one run while on the mound in his first four June starts, losing 2-1, 8-4, 6-1 and 3-0.
- Received a five-game suspension and undisclosed fine from Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing at Cubs Ian Happ on July 27. Served the suspension Aug. 2-6.
- His 3.01 ERA at Busch Stadium ranks 15th in MLB in Home ERA since he joined the Cardinals in 2018.
- Came back on two days rest after throwing 3.0 perfect innings (34 pitches) vs. Washington (7/14) in a game that was suspended by weather and picked up a 6-4 win on 7/17 vs. MIA – his first home win since May 30 vs. KC.
- Has crossed the 100.0 innings threshold for the 4th time in his MLB career. Leads the Cardinals in innings pitched (147.2) and is ranked T-2nd on the team in wins (6).
- Has allowed 19 of his 72 runs in the 1st inning (6.66 ERA, .333 BA); His ERA after the opening inning is 3.73 (51 ER/123.0 IP).
- Has not allowed a homer in the 1st inning, joining Jesus Luzardo, Sonny Gray, and Marcus Stroman as the only four pitchers with 20 or more starts without.
- Since joining the Cardinals in 2018, Mikolas leads MLB (min. 700 IP) in fewest walks (137); Justin Verlander (142) is 2nd. His 1.60 walks/9 IP are T-1st with Zack Greinke (1.60) for the fewest in MLB.
- Hasn’t committed an error since 8/2/18 vs. COL. One of two pitchers (Erick Fedde) with 100+ total chances and zero errors since 8/3/18. Ranks 9th among MLB pitchers in fielding pct. (.987) since 2018. (min. 100 TC). Was one of 10 MLB pitchers and two Cardinals (Wainwright) with a perfect 1.000 fielding pct. (31 total chances) in 2022.
- Ranks 2nd among current Cardinals behind only Adam Wainwright (2,640.0 IP) in most career innings pitched (779.1) as a member of the Cardinals.
- Ranks 4th among all-time Busch Stadium III leaders in ERA (3.00; min. 300 IP), 9th in all-time wins (22) & 8th in innings pitched (396.0).
LAST TIME OUT
- Was cruising allowing two runs over 6.0 innings before allowing two base runners to begin the 7th inning with both coming around to score. Exited leading 3-2, but did not factor in the decision.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
8/14 OAK W 7-5 ND 6.1 5 4 4 3 4 1 99-65
