NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets returned to action last night and fell to the Braves, 6-4…New York has lost four straight games, which is tied for the longest of the season…The last time the Mets lost more than four games was when they dropped five in a row from September 21-26, 2021…The Mets continue their six-game road trip (0-1) to Atlanta (0-1) and Pittsburgh (three games).
22 (PETE’S VERSION): Last night, Pete Alonso cracked his major league-leading 22nd home run in just his 61st game of the season…Dave Kingman (1976) is the only other Met to hit 22 home runs in the team’s first 61 games of a season…Last season, Alonso reached 22 home runs on June 25 in his 72nd game (team’s 73rd)…In 2021, his 22nd homer came on July 25 in game No. 87 (team game No. 97)…Alonso remains ahead of his record-setting pace from the 2019 season, when he hit his 22nd long ball on June 11 in the 66th game (Mets’ 67th game) of his rookie campaign.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso’s 22 home runs this year, leads the majors leagues…His 49 RBI are fourth in The Show and lead the National League… Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 429 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468)…Alonso has appeared in all 58 of the Mets games this year.
TURNED A CORNER: The Mets have received eight quality starts from their staff in the last 15 games…New York had eight quality starts through the first 46 games of the season…Over the last 15 games, Mets starters have posted a 3.31 ERA (31 ER/84.1 IP) with 30 walks and 80 strikeouts.
Rank Player Strikeouts
- Greg Maddux 3,371
- Phil Niekro 3,342
- Max Scherzer 3,241
- Justin Verlander 3,228
- Fergie Jenkins 3192
Rank Player Strikeouts - Pedro Martinez 3,154
- Bob Gibson 3,117
- Curt Schilling 3,116
- CC Sabathia 3,093
- John Smoltz 3,084
MOST STRIKEOUTS, ALL-TIME (NO. 10-19)
MAD MAX: Max Scherzer is set to make his 10th start of the season tonight… The righty is 5-2 with a 3.21 ERA (17 ER/47.2 IP) with 14 walks and 48 strikeouts… Over his last four starts, Scherzer is 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA (3 ER/25.0 IP) with four walks and 28 strikeouts…Tonight will mark his 32nd game (30th) start against the Braves…He is 13-10 with a 3.77 ERA (77 ER/182.3 IP) with 54 walks and 217 punchouts against Atlanta.
COME AT THE KING, BEST NOT MISS: Omar Narváez made his return from the Injured List yesterday…He went 1-2 with one run…He has reached base
safely in all six games this season, batting .313 (5-16) with two runs, two RBI and two walks.
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUIST: New York is 22-31 all-time at Truist Park… 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 .268 (11-41) with nine runs, one double, four home runs, eight RBI, 10 walks with a .415 OBP and a .585 SLG…Starling Marte has hit seven home runs in 26 career games at the yard.
HOTLANTA: Jeff McNeil has hit .382 (34-89) with 13 runs, nine doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, five walks with a .421 OBP and a .551 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.
A STARLING IS BORN: Over his last 26 games, Starling Marte is batting .284 (25-88) with 12 runs, one double, one triple, two home runs, nine RBI, three walks with a .330 OBP…He has safely reached base in seven of his last nine games.
PHAM-TASTIC: Over his last 11 games, Tommy Pham is batting .346 (9-26) with four runs, two doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBI, four walks with a .433 OBP, a .731 SLG and a 1.164 OPS.
THE EAST IS A BEAST: The Mets are 12-9 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 21 errors in 61 games this year, tied with the Diamondbacks for the fewest errors in the majors…New York owns a .990 fielding percentage…Their .990 fielding percentage, second in 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 34 games on the road this year, tied for the third-most in the majors…New York is 15-19 with a 4.91 ERA away from Citi Field in 2023…The team’s 283 strikeouts on the road are the third-most in the majors.
ROAD WARRIOR: Brandon Nimmo is batting .346 (46-133) with 18 runs, eight doubles, three triples, two home runs, 17 RBI, 16 walks with a .419 OBP and .496 SLG in 35 games on the road this season…His .346 road average ranks fourth 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, tied for sixth in the majors and tied for 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.
RISPY BUSINESS: The Mets are hitting .237 (108-456) 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.
STARTING PITCHER – MAX SCHERZER RHP #21
2023 STATS: 5-2, 3.21 ER A
SCHERZER’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 47% 49% 44% 93.2 mph
Slider 18% 1% 39% 83.7 mph
Changeup 15% 19% 11% 83.4 mph
Curveball 11% 16% 5% 75.2 mph
Cutter 9% 15% 1% 88.2 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 7.0 innings against Philadelphia at Citi Field on June 1…Allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits and one walk…Fanned nine Phillies hitters in a 4-2 Mets victory, picking up his fifth win of the year.
HOME OF THE BRAVE(S): Scherzer has faced Atlanta 31 times throughout his career, including 29 starts…In those appearances, he has pitched to a 13-10 record with a 3.77 ERA (77 ER/183.2 IP)…When facing the Braves on the road, Scherzer has pitched to a 3.18 ERA (36 ER/102.0 IP) in 18 appearances, including 16 starts, with an 8-6 record…His last win against the Braves came on August 17, 2022 at Truist Park, during which he threw 6.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out eight…Scherzer has tallied 217 strikeouts against Braves batters in his career, the second-most of any team he has faced, behind the Phillies (239).
TURNING THINGS AROUND: After pitching to a 5.56 ERA (14 ER/22.2 IP) in his first five starts this season, Scherzer has picked up three straight wins in his last four starts (since May 14 at the Nationals) with a 1.08 ERA (3 ER/25.0 IP)…In that time frame, he has tallied 28 strikeouts compared to four walks, holding opponents to a .182 average and pitching to a 0.80 WHIP.
FINE NINE: Scherzer whiffed nine batters for the first time this season in his last start…The last time he struck out nine or more batters was September 19, 2022…He did not record more than six strikeouts in any of his first eight starts of the season and dating back to his
final start of the 2022 season…He has had six strikeouts or fewer in eight straight starts only one other time in his career (September 2009-April 2010 with Arizona/Detroit).
DOUBLE THE FUN: Scherzer ranks tied for third all-time with 110 double-digit strikeout games in his career, two more than Pedro Martinez…His next 10+ K game will break a tie with Roger Clemens, who also had 110 in his career…He’ll then need over 100 more to catch the top two: Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (212).
ATLANTA BAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Mets tonight continue a three-game series with what is the fifth 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 rallied from a three-run deficit to beat New York, 6-4, last night and move to 3-1 in four games with the Mets this season.
- 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 54-36 (.600) against New York overall.
- The Braves have won nine of the last 11 games with New York dating to last season, outscoring the Mets 64-36 (+28) over the stretch…Atlanta is 7-1 against New York here at Truist Park in that span.
- Atlanta and New York tied atop the N.L. East with identical 101-61 records 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 Charlie Morton is set to make his second start of the season against New York, and his 20th career appearance versus the Mets…The 6-foot-5, 235-pound right-hander allowed six hits and four runs over 5.1 innings on May 1 at Citi Field to take the loss…Morton is 4-6 with a 3.82 ERA (43 ER/101.1 IP) in his career against New York, fanning 100.
- RH Max Scherzer has faced Atlanta more than any other team in his career, making 31 total appearances and 29 starts against the Braves…The 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of St. Louis, MO, is 13-10 with a 3.77 ERA (77 ER/183.2 IP) in his career versus Atlanta, striking out 217.
WIN: Atlanta erased a three-run deficit to rally and beat New York, 6-4, last night…The Braves improved to 13-5 (.722) against N.L. East opponents with the win.
- The Braves have 36 wins through their first 60 games this season…Since 2000, it is their fourth-best mark through 60 decisions, following 2003: 41-19 (.683), 2000: 39-21 (.650) and 2013: 37-23 (.617)…They went on to with the National League East in each of those seasons.
- The win marked Atlanta’s second straight come-from-behind win after also doing so Sunday at Arizona…The Braves improved to 13-24 (.361)
when trailing at any point this season, the 11thbest record in baseball. - The Braves have won back-to-back home games, and will look to tie their season-long winning streak here at Truist Park with a win tonight.
BRIAN SNITKER WINS: Atlanta’s win last night was the 578th of Brian Snitker’s managerial career, and his next win will tie him with George Stallings for the third-most wins by a manager in franchise history.
- Stallings managed the Braves to a 579-597-25 record in 1,201 games at the helm from 1913 to 1920, including a World Series title in 1914.
- Snitker and Stallings trail just Frank Selee (1,004 wins) and Bobby Cox (2,149 wins) on the franchise leaderboard.
- Snitker became the fifth manager in franchise history to skipper 1,000 games on April 6 earlier this season, joining Cox (3,860), Selee (1,677), Stallings (1,201) and Bill McKechnie (1,235).
- Snitker has compiled a 578-475 (.549) record as manager of the Braves, winning five consecutive N.L. East titles and the World Series in 2021…Since taking over for Atlanta on May 17, 2016, Snitker’s 578 wins stand as fourth most for any manager in baseball…The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts (672) and Guardians’ Terry Francona (601) rank first and second, respectively, while the Rays’s Kevin Cash (593) sits third.
- Atlanta’s 23 postseason wins since Snitker took over in 2016 are third most in baseball, trailing just the Astros (53) and Dodgers (45).
- Research courtesy the Elias Sports Bureau.
BULLPEN: Three Atlanta relievers combined to pitch 3.0 scoreless innings last night and the Braves’ bullpen has not allowed a run since May 30 at Oakland, a scoreless streak of five games and 16.0 innings…The club is 4-1 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 five straight scoreless games from August 13-16, 2022, in contests against the Miami Marlins (3 games) and New York Mets (2 games)…The team hasn’t done it in six consecutive games since 2019.
- By innings, the club last posted a longer scoreless streak from October 1-4, 2022, also against the Mets (2 games) and Marlins (2 games)…That streak spanned 16.2 innings.
- Every MLB club, except for Atlanta, has allowed at least one run in relief this month.
- Since the start of last season, Atlanta’s 2.92 bullpen ERA against New York is third-best among the Mets’ N.L. opponents…Only Milwaukee (2.29) and Chicago (2.45) have been better.
- The Atlanta bullpen pitched to a 4.11 ERA (90 ER/197.0 IP) prior to the start of its current streak, ranking 18th in the majors…Its current scoreless run has lowered the collective ERA to 3.80 (90 ER/213.0 IP) for the season, 12th best in baseball.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #50 Charlie Morton RHP
2023 Record: 5-6, 3.62 ERA • 2022 Record: 9-6, 4.34 ERA
vs. RHB: .256 (33-129), 2 HR • vs. LHB: .276 (34-123), 4 HR
Home: 2-3, 4.13 ERA (13/28.1) • Away: 3-3, 3.22 ERA (13/36.1)
Today’s Game
- Set to make his 12th start of the season and second against New York.
- Struck out nine hitters while scattering six hits, three runs, and two walks over 7.0 innings in his last start against Arizona.
- Became the sixth pitcher in franchise history to pitch at least 6.0 innings and strikeout nine or more in an outing at age 39 or older.
- Passed R.A. Dickey and Hall-of-Famer Cy Young with three such games.
- Trails Hall-of-Famers Phil Niekro (10), John Smoltz (8), and Warren Spahn (4).
- Morton has either won or lost each of his starts this season…His 11 consecutivegames with a decision is the longest active streak in 2023.
- Morton has struck out 321 hitters with his curveball since the beginning of the 2020; the most in the majors.
- During that span hitters are missing on 53.1% of curveballs thrown, the second highest rate in the majors…The MLB average is 11.6% (among QS).
- Over the last two seasons he has thrown his curve on 40.2% of pitches, also the most in baseball among qualified starters.
- Utilizing his curveball on 46.3% of pitches thrown this season.
- Morton’s 976 strikeouts since the 2018 season are the fourth most in baseball.
- Prior to the 2018 season, Morton threw his curveball on 21.3% of pitches throughout his career.
- Since the beginning of 2018 he has thrown his curve on 36.2% of pitches.
- Enters play with only 20% of balls put in play against him registering as line drives this season.
- Tied for the second lowest mark in the National League.
- Hitters are registering a .345 batting average on balls in play against Morton in ’23.
- The MLB BABIP this season is .301 for qualified starters.
- Batters are hitting 39.0% of balls 95 mph or higher against Morton while the MLB average for qualified starters is 39.5%.
- In his age 39 season, Morton is the sixth-oldest active pitcher in the majors.
2023 Recap
- Struck out 10 hitters over 6.2 scoreless innings in his win against Texas on May 15.
- Has now struckout at least 10 hitters in six games since turning 38, passing Hall-of-Famer Cy Young for the ninth most such games dating to 1901.
- Morton is the first player with at least six games of 10 or more strikeouts at his age since Hall-of-Famers Randy Johnson and John Smoltz.
- Made his first start of the season against St. Louis.
- Only struck out one hitter through 5.1 innings pitched against the Cardinals, marking just the ninth time in his career Morton pitched at least 5.0 frames while failing to record at least two punchouts and the first since June 5, 2015 against Pittsburgh.
- Struck out San Diego’s Jake Croneworth on April 8 to record his 1,700th career punchout.
- Is one of 16 active pitchers in baseball with as many strikeouts.
