MLB Preview: New York Mets (27-25) at Colorado Rockies (22-30)

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Rockies, 5-2, on Friday Night…New York has won back-to-back games and seven of their last nine games…New York continues a six-game road trip (2-2) to Chicago NL (1-2) and Colorado (1-0)…Following this road trip, the Mets enjoy Memorial Day off before beginning a six-game homestand against Philadelphia (three games) and Toronto (three games).

TRIPLES MAKES IT SAFE. TRIPLES IS BEST: Brandon Nimmo tripled twice in last night’s victory…He became the 15th player in franchise history to record two triples in the same game and the first since Amed Rosario did so on July 10, 2018 vs. Philadelphia…Since 1901, Brandon Nimmo is the fifth player in MLB to record two triples and walk thrice in the same game joining Dexter Folwer (7/4/10), Shane Victorino (5/10/10), Mike Schmidt (7/23/77) and Mike Mitchell (9/26/1909 – G1)…He has recorded three triples in the last two games and now has 27 in his career…That places him tied for seventh with Lance Johnson on the Mets all-time list.

TAP THE ROCKIES: Brandon Nimmo, who grew up around 100 miles from the ballpark, is a .386 (22-57) lifetime hitter with 15 runs, two triples, four home runs, 11 RBI, seven walks with a .446 OBP and a .667 SLG in 15 games at the ballpark…After going 0-1 with a run in his career game at Coors Field on August 2, 2017, Nimmo has hit in 14 straight games at the ballpark…He is 22-56 (.393) in that span with 13 runs, two triples, four home runs, 11 RBI, and seven walks with a 1.132 OPS.

ROAD WARRIOR: Brandon Nimmo is batting .352 (43-122) with 18 runs, eight doubles, three triple, two home runs, 17 RBI, 14 walks with a .418 OBP and .516 SLG in 31 games on the road this season…His .352 road average ranks third in the majors…Nimmo owns a career .398 OBP on the road…That is the fourth-highest mark in the majors since the Wyoming native entered the league in 2016.

IF YOU START ME OFF: Max Scherzer tossed 7.0 innings yesterday, while Carlos Carrasco tossed 6.2 on Thursday…The Mets are 13-0 this season when the starter goes at least 6.0 innings and 4-0 when the starter goes at least 7.0 innings.

JUST DO IT: Justin Verlander is set to make his fifth start of the season tonight…He is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA (10 ER/25.0 IP)…This includes a 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA (3 ER/12.0 IP) with three walks and 12 strikeouts in two starts on the road…Verlander has made five career starts against Colorado including two at Coors Field…He is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA (8 ER/34.2 IP) with five walks and 36 strikeouts against the Rox…At Coors Field, he is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) with one walk and 14 punchouts.

Rank Player Strikeouts

10. Greg Maddux 3,371
11. Phil Niekro 3,342
12. Max Scherzer 3,232
13. Justin Verlander 3,218
14. Fergie Jenkins 3192

Rank Player Strikeouts

15. Pedro Martinez 3,154
16. Bob Gibson 3,117
17. Curt Schilling 3,116
18. CC Sabathia 3,093
19. John Smoltz 3,084
    MOST STRIKEOUTS, ALL-TIME (NO. 10-19)

ROCKY ROAD: The Mets have won seven of their last nine games at Coors Field…Overall, the Mets are 42-57 at the ballpark…Starling Marte has hit .407 (48-118) with 27 runs, four doubles, five home runs, 22 RBI, five walks with a .453 OBP and a .568 SLG in 27 games at Coors Field….Pete Alonso has hit .359 (14-39) with six runs, two doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and one walk in 10 games in Denver.

FIRST IS THE BEST: The Mets are 16-3 when scoring first this season… The team’s .842 winning percentage when scoring first is tied for the second-best mark in the majors…On the other hand, the Mets are 11- 22 (.333) when their opponent scores first…Since the start of 2022, the Mets are 97-19 when scoring first…Their .836 winning percentage is the best in the majors.

HOMER HAPPY: After the Mets went five straight games without a home run, the Mets have homered in season-high 10 straight contests, hitting 17 home runs in that span…The Mets are 22-11 when hitting a home run this season and 9-5 when hitting multiple homers…In 2022, the Mets longest home run streak was nine games (September 9-17)… The team hit 14 home runs in that span…The last time the Mets had a longer streak was in 2019…From June 20-July 5 the Mets homered in 14 straight games, socking 24 dingers in that span…The 14-game homer streak is tied for the second-longest in franchise history.

HEY NINETEEN: Pete Alonso has homered in six of his last 10 games… Overall, he has hit 19 home runs this year, which leads the majors leagues…His 45 RBI are third in The Show and lead the National League…Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 425 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468)…Alonso has appeared in 52 games this year…See the chart below for the fastest Met to reach 20 home runs in a season and the fastest to 50 RBI…Courtesy of Elias.

NAME YEAR GAMES
Dave Kingman 1976 51
Mike Piazza 2000 59
Pete Alonso 2019 59
Darryl Strawberry 1987 63
Carlson Beltran 2006 65
Courtesy of Elias

NAME YEAR GAMES
Carlos Beltran 2006 53
Pete Alonso 2022 55
Todd Hundley 1996 57
Mike Piazza 2000 57
Gary Carter 1986 61
Bernard Gilkey 1996 61
FASTEST METS TO 2O HOME RUNS – FASTEST TO 50 RBI

ATTABOY ALVAREZ: Francisco Alvarez is on a six-game hitting streak, batting .429 (9-21) in that span with five runs, one double, three home runs, seven RBI, one walk with a .500 OBP, a .905 SLG and a 1.405 OPS… His six home runs are tied for the fifth-most by a rookie in the Majors and tied for the third-most in the National League…The backstop is batting .300 (21-70) with five doubles, six home runs, five walks with a .364 OBP and a .629 SLG against right-handed pitching this year…In 19 games in May, Alvarez is batting .305 (18-59) with nine runs, five doubles, five home runs, 11 RBI, six walks with a 1.032 OPS.

STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets are tied for third in the majors and are tied for the National League lead with a 85.4% stolen base rate this season… Starling Marte has swiped 14 bags this year, tied for fifth in the majors and tied for second in the National League…His 328 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 340 steals.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: New York has played 31 games on the road this year, the most in the majors…New York is 15-16 with a 4.50 ERA away from Citi Field in 2023…The team’s 264 strikeouts on the road are the most in the majors.

EIGHT IS GREAT: The Mets are 24-0 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 119 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…From October 1, 1990- September 2, 1992, the Mets also won 117 straight games when ahead after eight innings.

STARTING PITCHER – JUSTIN VERLANDER RHP #35
2023 STATS: 2-2, 3.60 ER A

VERLANDER PITCH ARSENL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 51% 55% 47% 94.4 mph
Slider 29% 24% 34% 87.5 mph
Curveball 17% 15% 19% 79.2 mph
Changeup 3% 6% 0% 85.1 mph

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: In his last start, May 21 vs. Cleveland, Verlander earned his second win of the season after tossing 8.0 innings of one-run ball on three hits, zero walks and five strikeouts…At 40 years and 90 days, Verlander became the oldest Mets pitcher to complete 8.0 innings since Bartolo Colon on May 2, 2016 at 42 years and 344 days…Verlander became the sixth pitcher in franchise history 40 years or older to allow three or fewer hits over 8.0 or more innings…Miguel Batista was the last Mets pitcher to accomplish the feat after throwing a two-hit shutout at 40 years and 221 days on September 28, 2011.

PEAK PERFORMANCES: In five career starts against the Rockies, Verlander is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA (8 ER/34.1 IP) and a 0.89 WHIP…Verlander has allowed two or fewer runs in each of those starts and four of those five starts have been quality starts…Verlander is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) in two career starts at Coors Field…On June 19, 2011, Verlander became the 22nd visiting pitcher in Coors Field history to toss a complete game after allowing one run on four hits, zero walks and five strikeouts with the Tigers…Verlander’s final Tigers start of his career came at Coors Field on August 30, 2017…In that start, Verlander pitched 6.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts…He was traded to Houston the following day.

30 FOR 3O: With a win on May 10th against the Reds, Verlander became the 21st pitcher in major league history to have at least one win against all 30 current major league teams…He joined Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke and teammate Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to have at least one win against all 30 current major league teams…Courtesy of Elias.

3K AND COUNTING: Entering the 2023 season, Verlander was 12th on the all-time strikeout list with 3,198 strikeouts, five ahead of teammate Max Scherzer…Scherzer has since passed Verlander, but the pair remain close, with just 14 separating the two…Entering last season, Verlander ranked 19th on the all-time with 3,013 career strikeouts, seven behind Scherzer… During the 2022 season, Verlander passed all-time greats John Smoltz, C.C Sabathia, Curt Schilling, Bob Gibson, Pedro Martinez and Fergie Jenkins…See below for a chart of the No. 10-19 strikeout pitchers of all-time:

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

YOU OUGHTA KNOW

• The Colorado Rockies continue their three-game set with game two against the New York Mets to conclude the seven-game homestand … coming of a 3-1 series win over the Marlins, the first of two four-game home series the Rockies have this season (also: Sept. 14-17 vs. San Francisco).
• Colorado has won five of its last seven series since May 2 and six of their last nine series since April 24 … had lost or split each of their first seven series of the season prior to this stretch.
• The Rockies have won 10 of their last 15 home games since April 30 after snapping a seven-game losing streak at Coors Field … their .667 home winning percentage across that span ranks tied for fifth in the Majors and tied for second in the NL.
• The Rockies are in the midst of a stretch of 17 straight games without an off-day from May 19-June 4, their longest stretch without an off day this season.

I HOPE YOU HAD THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

• The Rockies welcome back three alumni to Coors Field over the weekend as part of their 30th anniversary celebrations throughout the season … outfielder Brad Hawpe and pitchers Jason Jennings and Ubaldo Jiménez will be at the ballpark today and Sunday, and will all throw out a ceremonial first pitch prior to tomorrow’s game.

ALL THE ROADS WE HAVE TO WALK ARE WINDING

• Rockies Manager Bud Black is sitting at 439 wins with the Rockies since his first season with the club in 2017, one win shy of tying Don Baylor for the second-most managerial wins in franchise history … Baylor, the Rockies’ first manager in franchise history, went 440-469 in six seasons at the helm from 1993-98.

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

• 21-year-old shortstop Ezequiel Tovar logged his first career walk-off hit Thursday vs. Miami with a bases loaded single in the ninth inning … was the Rockies’ first walk-off since Alan Trejo’s RBI single on Sept. 23, 2022.
• Tovar has hit safely in six of his last seven games, snapping a streak of six in a row last night which was one game shy of tying his career-high seven game hit streak from April 26-May 4 of this year … has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 home games since April 28, slashing .273/.304/.481 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and eight RBI across that span.
• Per Sports Info Solutions, Tovar’s five defensive runs saved are the fourth-most among all shortstops while his five outs above average (Baseball Savant) are tied for the fourth-most … 0.8 dWAR (Baseball Reference) is tied for the fifth-highest among all National League position players.

BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY

• The Rockies have dropped seven of their last nine home matchups vs. the Mets and have not won a home series against the club since a 3-1 series win June 18-21, 2018 … overall, the Rockies are 106-118 against the club from Queens, 63-45 in Denver.
• The Rockies took two of three from the Mets May 5-7 at Citi Field, Colorado’s first series win over the Mets since 2018 when they went 6-1 overall in the matchup.
• The 13-6 rubber match win over the Mets on May 7 was the Rockies highest scoring affair of the season, their most runs in a game since plating 13 on Sept. 9, 2022 vs. Arizona … was their highest scoring road game since also scoring 13 runs at Wrigley Field Aug. 25, 2021 in a 10-inning contest.

BABY GOT BACKSTOP

• Prior to last night, catcher Elias Díaz had homered in at least two consecutive games for the first time this season and fifth time of his career … has three home runs over his last five games overall … ranks third in the Majors with a .331 batting average and ranks fourth with a .452 batting average (19-for-42) with runners in scoring position.
• Díaz ranks second in the Majors with a .372 average (32-for-86) at home … has gone 14-for-24 (.583) with 14 RBI with runners in scoring position at Coors Field.
• Ranks second among position players in the NL with a 2.2 WAR and fourth overall in the NL … his dWAR (1.0) is third-best in the National League.
• Has appeared in 44 games at catcher, the second-most in the Majors … his 10 catcher caught stealing are third in the Majors, while his 40.7 caught stealing percentage ranks second (min. 20 games).

WILL IT EVER STOP? YO, I DONT KNOW.

• Outfielder Jurickson Profar holds an active 33-game on-base streak since April 15, the longest active streak in the Majors and the second-longest streak this season, trailing Yordan Álvarez (36 games) … matches Eric Young Sr. for the 11th-longest on-base streak in club history (July 1, 1995-Aug. 10, 1995) and the longest since Connor Joe’s 35-game on-base streak last season (tied for the seventh-longest).
• Profar is slashing .268/.356/.417 through the streak with 18 walks … over his last 16 games since May 7, is slashing .328/.388/.557 with eight doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and eight multi-hit games.

ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #45 CHASE ANDERSON RHP

HEADING OUT WEST

• Chase Anderson will make his third start in a Rockies uniform today after being claimed off of waivers from Tampa Bay on May 12.
• Designated for assignment by Tampa Bay on May 10 … was acquired by Tampa Bay via trade with Cincinnati in exchange for cash considerations
  on May 3.
• Was signed by the Reds to a Minor League contract on Feb. 20 after spending the 2022 season with the club.

FISH ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD

• Second start for the Rockies last Monday against the Marlins … went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks with one strikeout.
• Did not receive a decision in the 5-3 win … left with the game tied 2-2 … the two runs he allowed were the first he’s allowed this season,
  raising his ERA to 1.15.

ANNOUNCE HIS PRESENCE WITH AUTHORITY

• Made his first career start with the Rockies on May 16 vs. the Reds, drawing a no decision in a 3-1 Rockies loss … pitched five scoreless innings with one hit allowed, one walk and three strikeouts … left after five innings with the game tied 0-0.
• Became the ninth pitcher in franchise history to toss at least five scoreless innings in his first start with the club, the first since Antonio Senzatela did so in his Major League debut on April 6, 2017 … first Rockies pitcher to accomplish the feat in a home game since Drew
  Pomeranz on his Major League debut on Sept. 11, 2011.

QUEENS GAMBIT

• In 11 career starts against the Mets, Anderson is 3-4 with a 4.22 ERA (53.1 IP, 25 ER) … New York hitters are slashing .248/.332/.422 in his
  career.
• His last start against the Mets came on April 30, 2021 picking up a win in the 2-1 contest at Citizens Bank Park … pitched five innings giving up one run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

RAYS OF SUNSHINE

• Has tossed 15.2 total innings this season and allowed 10 singles and one double with four walks with six strikeouts.
• Made two relief appearances for Tampa Bay on May 3 and May 9, both in relief after being acquired from Cincinnati on May 3.
• Pitched five innings without allowing a run in his relief appearances … allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out two.
• Tossed three scoreless innings on May 3 vs. Pittsburgh, garnering his first career save in an 8-1 Rays win.

HISTORY AT A MILE HIGH

• Over his 10-year career he has made eight starts at Coors Field, going 2-3 with a 6.08 ERA (40.0 IP, 27 ER), 16 walks and 26 strikeouts … has allowed 46 hits in his 40.0 innings at Coors Field (.303 average), including five home runs.

JOURNEYMAN

• The Rockies are Anderson’s seventh club in his MLB career.
• Previously made stops with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-15), Milwaukee Brewers (2016-19), Toronto Blue Jays (2020), Philadelphia
  Phillies (2021), Cincinnati Reds (2022), and Tampa Bay Rays (2023).