NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: For the third time in four days, the Mets were rained out yesterday…Today, the Mets begin a brief road trip to Detroit for a
three-game series…The Mets are 6-3 in series openers this season…On Friday, the Mets return home for three games against the Rockies.
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday, RHP Max Scherzer was reinstated from his 10-game suspension…Today, New York has appointed RHP José Butto as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader…Butto will be active for both games of today’s twinbill.
RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD: The Mets will play their second straight doubleheader after splitting a twinbill with Atlanta on Monday…In the last 25 years, the Mets have played two straight doubleheaders with no other games in between only once…The last time was on April 14, 2011 (vs. Colorado) and April 16 (at Atlanta).
DOUBLE DARE: The Mets are set to play their second doubleheader of the season today…The Mets and Braves split a double-dip on Monday…The Mets have played 25 double dips since 2021, more than any other team in the majors…The Mets have earned at least a split in all 25 of their twinbills over the last two years…Elias notes the team’s streak of 25 consecutive doubleheaders without being swept is the longest in Mets history… According to sportradar, the streak is the second-longest in the expansion era (since 1961)…Only the Yankees (30 in a row from 1996-2006) have had a longer streak…New York has swept seven of their last 12 doubleheaders, including five DH sweeps last season…The last time the Mets were swept in a doubleheader was September 26, 2020 at Washington.
RETURN OF THE MAX: Today, Max Scherzer makes his return from a 10- game suspension…Scherzer pitched for the Tigers from 2010-2014, going 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA and 1,081 strikeouts in 161 starts…He won the first of his three career Cy Young Awards with Detroit (2013) and was twice
named to the AL All-Star team (2013, 2014)…Scherzer has made three career starts against his former club…In two starts against Detroit since leaving the Tigers, he has thrown 17.0 innings, allowed three runs, struck out 34 and walked none…On May 11, 2016, he started against Detroit for the first time since he left the team and struck out 20 batters in a complete game victory for Washington…The last time he faced the Tigers was June 30, 2019, in his first start as a visitor at Comerica Park…He threw 8.0 innings of one-run ball and struck out 14 without walking a batter.
GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN!: The Mets face the Tigers for the first time since 2019…The Mets will play at Comerica Park for the first time since a three-game series from August 5-7, 2016…Overall, the Mets are 11-13 against the Tigers including a 4-8 record in Detroit and a 4-5 record in Comerica Park…New York played one series at Tiger Stadium…They were swept in a three-game set from June 30-July 2, 1997.
THEY’RE OUT OF MY LEAGUE: 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 3-0 against the American League this year…Overall, New York owns a 238-227 record in Interleague play…The team’s .512 winning percentage is the second-best among National League clubs.
INTERLEAGUE PETE: Pete Alonso is 4-12 with three runs, two home runs, two RBI and three walks in three games against the American League this
year…He batted .333/.410/.639 against AL opponents last season with 15 runs, four doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI and 10 walks…His six home runs were tied for the sixth-most in the majors…Alonso has hit 31 home runs in Interleague Play since the 2019 season…His 31 home runs against the American League is a franchise record, and the most among any player in that time frame…Mike Piazza was the previous record holder with 28 Interleague home runs.
HERE’S THE CATCH: Francisco Alvarez is batting .320 (8-25) with three runs, a double, a home run, three RBI and a walk over his last nine games… This comes after he hit .067 (1-15) in his first five games this season.
FIRST TIME, LONG TIME: The Mets are 12-2 when scoring first this season… Their .857 winning percentage when scoring first ranks second in the National League and fourth in the majors…The Rays are 19-0 (1.000), followed by the Blue Jays (11-1, .917) and the Brewers (14-2, .875).
EN FUEGO: Joey Lucchesi is slated to make his third start of the season tonight in Detroit…It will mark his first career start against the Tigers…The lefty is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA (3 ER/12.1 IP) with four walks and 12 strikeouts this season…Lefties are hitting .143 (1-7) against him this season…Overall, lefties have hit just .239 (68-284) against Lucchesi in his career.
BRETT THE MET: Brett Baty went 3-9 with two runs, a double, a home run, and an RBI in both games of the doubleheader yesterday…He has reached base safely in nine straight games, batting .387 (12-32) with four runs, two doubles, two home runs, three RBI and two walks in that span…This comes after he went 1-8 in his first three games.
DOCTOR ROBERT-SON: In game two on Monday, David Robertson notched his fourth career six-out save and his first since August 20, 2022 vs. the Mets with Philadelphia…He matched a career-high with four strikeouts for the 12th time in his career…Overall, the Alabama native has appeared in 12 games and has allowed one run in 13.1 innings of work, good for a 0.68 ERA…He has allowed seven hits, three walks while striking out 18 in that span…He is holding left-handed hitters to a .120 (3-25) batting average this season…He has converted all six save opportunities he’s had this season… Overall, he has recorded 163 saves in his career…That is the seventh-most among active players.
IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS: Over his last 14 games, Jeff McNeil is batting .400 (20-50) with nine runs, two doubles, one triple, two home runs, five RBI, five walks, one streal with a .483 OBP and a .600 SLG…Since April 16, he has raised his batting average from .212 to .304 and his OBP from .359 to .418…His .418 OBP is the 10th-best in the majors and seventh-highest in the National League.
MULTIPLICITY: McNeil has recorded nine multi-hit games this season… He has 172 multi-hit games in his career, which places him 19th on the Mets all-time list…He has 62 multi-hit games since the start of last season, which is the third-most during that span behind Bo Bichette and Freddie Freeman who each have 67 multi-hit games since 2022.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: New York will play its 18th and 19th road games today, which will be tied for the most in the majors…New York is 10-7 on the road this season…They are 3-1-1 in road series in 2023…The Mets are batting .245/.337/.392 on the road this year…They have posted a 4.59 ERA with 63 walks and 148 strikeouts away from Citi Field in 2023…The Mets 10 road wins are tied for the fourth-most in the majors.
WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?: Brandon Nimmo is sixth in the major leagues with a 1.6 fWAR…Over the last 19 games, Nimmo is batting .364 (28-77) with 13 runs, five doubles, one triple, two home runs, 10 RBI, seven walks, one steal with a .419 OBP and a .532 SLG…He has raised his batting average from .192 to .320 in that span…The Wyoming native is eighth in the majors with a .419 OBP and 10th in batting average (.320).
GUESS WHO’S BACH?: Over his last 12 games, Daniel Vogelbach is 11-31 (.355) with three runs, two doubles, one home run, eight RBI, six walks with a .459 OBP and a .516 SLG…He has posted a .426 OBP in 22 games this season, which is leads the team.
TODAY’S STARTER – JOEY LUCCHESI LHP #47
2023 STATS: 1-0, 2.19 E R A
LUCCHESI’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Sinker 51.6% 66.7% 49.0% 89.7 mph
Cutter 25.8% 3.7% 29.7% 90.0 mph
Churve 22.5% 29.6% 21.3% 78.3 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Lucchesi threw 5.1 innings on April 27 at Citi Field, allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks…Fanned three Nationals batters in the Mets’ 9-8 comeback victory.
EYE OF THE TIGERS: Lucchesi has never faced the Detroit Tigers in his career… In matchups against American League teams, Lucchesi holds a 3-3 record in nine games and eight starts, and has pitched to a 4.65 ERA (21 ER/40.2 IP)… Has held opponents to a .227 average and has fanned 49 batters in Interleague contests.
PUTTING UP GOOSE EGGS: Dating back to June 13, 2021, Lucchesi tossed 18.1 straight scoreless innings, a career-best scoreless streak, which came to an end on April 27 against the Nationals…Among starting pitchers, Lucchesi’s scoreless streak was the third-longest active scoreless streak in the majors at the time, behind Zac Gallen (28.0 innings) and Gerrit Cole (20.0 innings)
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU: Lucchesi holds a 2-4 record in 13 appearances and 11 starts in the month of May…Has pitched to a 4.15 ERA (28 ER/60.2 IP) in those games, while fanning 57 batters…This will be his first start in May since May 27, 2021 against the Rockies at Citi Field, when he allowed one run on two hits, three walks and two strikeouts in a 4-2 Mets victory.
JOEY FUEGO: Made his major league debut on March 30, 2018 while with San Diego in a start against Milwaukee…Played for the Padres for three season before coming to the Mets in 2021…As a Met, Lucchesi–who adopted the nickname “Fuego” while in college-made eight starts in 11 appearances in 2021, pitching to a 4.46 ERA (19 ER/38.1 IP) and racking up 41 strikeouts before his season was cut short after undergoing “Tommy John” surgery…Made his Mets debut in relief on April 7, 2021 at Philadelphia, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings… Pitched to a 1.19 ERA (3 ER/22.2 IP) with 24 strikeouts over his last five outings of the 2021 season before his season-ending injury.
SLINGIN’ IN SYRACUSE: Lucchesi made three starts this season for Triple-A Syracuse…In his three starts at Syracuse, he has pitched to a 2.30 ERA (4 ER/15.2 IP) and has tallied 16 strikeouts…Lucchesi has held opponents to a .196 average thus far, while pitching to a 1.15 WHIP.
TROUBLE WITH THE CHURVE: Has gained attention throughout his career for a pitch he created, called the “churve”…Developed from a basic changeup, Lucchesi holds the ball deep in his palm and tinkered with his wrist action and position to throw the pitch in a similar nature to a breaking ball…Since then, it is a go-to weapon for Lucchesi…In 2019, his churve had an average 8.9 vertical drop, per Statcast, which was the most movement of any pitcher’s changeup by more than a full inch…According to Baseball Savant, Lucchesi’s pitch arsenal also featured a sinker, curve, cutter and change the last time he was in the majors.
DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:
TIGERS-METS RAINED OUT ON TUESDAY, SPLIT DH TODAY: The Tigers-Mets game on Tuesday was postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will play a split doubleheader today with the first game beginning at 1:40 p.m. and the second game starting at 6:40 p.m.
ROSTER MOVE: The Tigers have announced the following roster move:
*Named RHP Brendan White as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.
LET’S PLAY TWO: The Tigers today will play their third doubleheader of the season, which leads all Major League clubs. Detroit swept a twinbill from Cleveland on April 18 and split two games with Baltimore on Saturday. In 2022, the Tigers played nine doubleheaders, which was the thirdmost in the Majors, behind Cleveland (11) and New York (NL) (10).
JAVY STAYS HOT: Javier Báez continued his hot stretch at the plate on Sunday, going 2×4 with a double and a RBI. After starting the season 4×40 in his first 11 games of the season, Báez has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games with at least one at-bat. During that stretch, Báez is slashing .340/.382/.440 with five doubles and 10 RBI.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT: Alex Lange struck out both Baltimore batters he faced in Sunday’s series finale. Lange has not allowed a run in nine consecutive appearances, throwing 9.0 innings with only three hits allowed, two walks and 15 strikeouts. For the season, Lange has posted a 1.42 ERA (12.2IP/2ER) with a 0.95 WHIP and 15 strikeouts.
TIGERS AND METS: The Tigers and Mets begin their only series of the season today. The two teams last played in 2019 with New York (NL) winning two-of-three games at Citi Field. Detroit has a 13-11 lead in the all-time series against the Mets, including a 5-4 edge in games at Comerica Park.
INTERLEAGUE ACTION: The Tigers return to interleague play today against the Mets. Detroit has started the season 4-1 against National League foes, sweeping a two-game series from San Francisco and taking two-of-three games at Milwaukee. The Tigers have finished with a winning record against NL opponents in each of the last two seasons.
AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers are 1-3 on their current seven-game homestand, which includes four games vs. Baltimore (1-3) and three games vs. New York (NL) (May 3-4). Detroit is 5-7 at home this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .246/.314/.372 at Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has a 4.90 ERA (112.0IP/61ER).
TIGRES EN ESPAÑOL: The Tigers have an expanded 22-game slate of Spanish-language radio broadcasts in 2023, including each game of this week’s series against the Mets. Fans can tune in throughout metro Detroit on 1270 AM, for free across Michigan on the Audacy app, worldwide via the MLB app, and by choosing the SAP option on Bally Sports Detroit telecasts. Tigers bilingual media relations coordinator Carlos Guillen serves as the play-by-play announcer, while the analyst this series is 1984 World Series champion Barbaro Garbey.
TIGERS ON THE IL:
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 15-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• OF Kerry Carpenter (right shoulder sprain, 10-day IL on April 29, retroactive to April 28)
• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 60-day IL on April 12)
• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
• RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 15-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)
• Single A Lakeland (11-11): L, 6-5 – Andrew Jenkins, 2×5, 3B, 2 RBI; Peyton Graham, 2×5, R, 2B, RBI; Lazaro Benitez, 2×4, BB
TODAY’S GAME 1 TIGERS STARTING PITCHER – #43 Joey Wentz • 0-3, 6.45 ERA (22.1IP/16ER)
• Wentz will make his sixth start of the season today in the first game of the doubleheader vs. New York (NL).
• Did not factor into the decision in his last start on Thursday vs. Baltimore, allowing two runs on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
• Will be making his first career appearance against the Mets today… in eight career starts at Comerica Park, Wentz has a 0-3 record with a
5.13 ERA (33.1IP/19ER) and 31 strikeouts.
• Saw his first Major League action in 2022, starting seven games and posting a 2-2 record with a 3.03 ERA (32.2IP/11ER) and 27 strikeouts…
also appeared in 12 games, including 11 starts, with Triple A Toledo and went 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA (48.1IP/17ER) and 53 strikeouts.
• Pitched in the Arizona Fall League following the 2022 season and made three starts for Salt River, throwing 12.0 scoreless innings with two hits allowed, four walks and 14 strikeouts.
