NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Cardinals, 8-7, yesterday at Citi Field…The Mets finished a six-day, five-game homestand (2-3) against the Yankees (1-1) and Cardinals (1-2)…Today, New York heads out on a seven-day, six-game road trip to Houston (three games) and Philadelphia (three games).
HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM: New York has dropped seven straight games to the Astros…The team’s last victory against the Astros came on September 28, 2014 at Citi Field…The Mets has dropped eight straight in Houston…The team’s last victory in Houston was on May 15, 2011.
ASTRO, ASTRO, ASTROLAND: Pete Alonso has played four career games against the Astros and is 4-11 with one homer, two RBI and two walks…In 16 career games, Tommy Pham has hit .356 (21-59) with nine runs, five doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, five walks with a .406 OBP and a .542 SLG…Mark Canha has posted a .341 OBP in 77 career games against the Astros.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Mets head out on the road again…The team has played 39 games on the road this year, tied for the fourth-most in the majors and tied for the second-most in the National League…New York is 16-23 away from Citi Field in 2023.
IL PITCHER OF THE WEEK: LHP Joey Lucchesi was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 12-18… Lucchesi went 6.2 scoreless innings on June 13 at Buffalo…He allowed two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six…Lucchesi is 5-1 with a 2.33 ERA (12 ER/46.1 IP) with 45 strikeouts in eight starts for Syracuse.
MAKE IT A DOZEN: Brandon Nimmo has reached base safely in each of his last 12 games…He owns a .404 OBP in that span with a .914 OPS…He has safely hit in seven of his last nine games, batting .306 (11-36) with five runs, two doubles, three home runs, four walks, 11 RBI, a .419 OBP,
a .611 SLG and a 1.030 OPS in that span…Nimmo is batting .341 (30-88) with nine doubles, one triple and a .404 OBP against southpaws this
season.
ROAD WARRIOR: Nimmo is batting .329 (50-180) with 21 runs, eight doubles, three triples, three home runs, 22 RBI, 21 walks with a .413 OBP, a.480 SLG and an .894 OPS in 39 road games this year…That compares to a .233/.336/.388 slashline with nine extra-base hits and 10 RBI in 30 games at Citi Field in 2023.
A CENTURY: New York’s pitching staff has allowed 100 home runs, the second-most in the NL and the fourth-most in the majors…The Mets
allowed a total of 169 home runs in 2022…The bullpen has only eight blown saves, tied for the fifth-fewest in the majors.
PHAM-TASTIC: Tommy Pham has safely hit in nine of his last 10 games, batting .300 (12-40) with five runs, five doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, one walk, one steal with an .885 OPS over that span…Since May 17, Pham is batting .318 (21-66) with nine runs, seven doubles, one triple, four home runs, 18 RBI, five walks, four steals with a .997 OPS in 21 games.
WHEN YOU’RE IN SCORING POSITION, YOU’RE PHAMILY: Tommy Pham leads the Mets with a .355 (11-31) average with runners in scoring position…Since May 18, Pham has nine hits in 15 at-bats with RISP…He leads the majors in average (.600), OBP (.632), slugging percentage (1.333) and OPS (1.965) with RISP over that timeframe.
A STARLING IS BORN: Over his last 35 games, Starling Marte is batting .291 (37-127) with 18 runs, two doubles, one triple, two home runs, 11 RBI, four walks, 10 steals with a .328 OBP…He has safely reached base in 15 of his last 18 games.
IF YOU START ME OFF: New York is 19-2 when their starter goes at least 6.0 innings…The Mets are 7-0 when the starter goes at least 7.0 innings.
FIRST IS THE BEST: The Mets are 20-8 (.714) when scoring first this season…On the other hand, the Mets are 13-30 (.302) when their opponent scores first.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Despite missing 10 games, Pete Alonso’s 22 home runs this year, leads the National League and rank second in the majors to Shohei Ohtani (24)…Alonso has 49 RBI, ranking third in the NL…Alonso has two homers in his last four games dating to June 4…He returned from the IL on Sunday.
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 9-8 against the American League this year…Overall, New York owns a 244-235 record in Interleague play…The team’s .509 winning percentage is the second-best among National League clubs.
INTERSTELLAR: Jeff McNeil owns a .326/.376/.442 slashline with 41 runs, 15 doubles, seven home runs and 38 RBI in 84 Interleague games, while
Starling Marte has slashed .325/.386/.541 with 121 runs, 46 doubles, 11 triples, 29 home runs and 90 RBI in 186 Interleague games…They rank second and third, respectively, in average among active players in Interleague play (min. 250 PA)…McNeil’s .326 clip is the second-highest all-time by a Met.
FIRST IS THE WORST: The Mets have been outscored 52-21 in the first inning this year.
STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets have stole 25 consecutive bases without being caught…The last time a Mets player was thrown out attempting a stolen base was on May 10 (Francisco Lindor at second)…The Mets are first in the major leagues with an 89.5% stolen base success rate this season…Starling Marte has swiped 19 bags this year, tied for seventh in the majors and tied for second in the National League…His 333 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 341 steals.
DR. ROBERTSON: David Robertson has posted a 2-1 record with a 1.72 ERA (6 ER/31.1 IP) in 28 appearances this season…He has walked eight, while striking out 40…He ranks fifth in the NL in ERA among relievers and tied for 13th with 40 punchouts…He is holding left-handed hitters to a .161 (10-62) average this year.
HIP, HIP, HOME RUN: The Mets have homered in 26 of their last 29 games, socking 44 bombs in that span…The Mets are tied for fifth in the National League with 85 blasts this season.
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Francisco Alvarez as hit 12 home runs this season…That is the third-most by a rookie in the majors and the second-most in the National League…10 of his home runs have come as a catcher…Only one other rookie catcher in Mets history have had more homers in a season…Travis d’Arnaud (12) holds the club mark for home runs by a rookie catcher in 2014…Alvarez’s 12 homers in his first 44 games played in a season as a primary catcher at age 21 or younger are the most in the majors…Johnny Bench had 11 homers in 1969…Hit tip
Sarah Langs.
STARTING PITCHER – MAX SCHERZER RHP #21
2023 STATS: 5-2, 4.45 E R A
SCHERZER’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 46.9% 49.2% 44.4% 93.4 mph
Slider 18.5% 0.1% 38.1% 83.6 mph
Changeup 14.5% 18.1% 10.8% 83.5 mph
Curveball 11.1% 15.9% 6.0% 75.3 mph
Cutter 9.0% 16.9% 0.6% 88.3 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Pitched 3.1 innings pitched against New York-AL at Citi Field on June 13… Allowed a season-high-tying six runs and surrendered seven hits..Did not allow any walks and struck out two in the Mets’ 7-6 loss.
H-TOWN: Scherzer has faced eight times in his career, seven of which have been starts… In those outings, he is 4-1 with a 3.27 ERA (19 ER/52.1 IP)…When facing the Astros on the road, Scherzer has pitched to a 3.15 ERA (7 ER/20.0 IP) in three starts, with a 1-1 record…His last win against the Astros came on August 4, 2021 in his Dodgers debut, during which he threw 7.0 innings, allowed two earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out ten.
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 wins over his last six starts (since May 14 at Washington) and has pitched to a 3.71 ERA (14 ER/34.0 IP) during that span…In that time frame, he has tallied 40 strikeouts compared to four walks, holding opponents to a .256 average and pitching to a 1.12 WHIP.
TERRIFIC TEN: Scherzer whiffed ten batters for the first time this season on June 7 at Atlanta…Marked his first double-digit strikeout game since striking out 11 on August 28, 2022 vs. Colorado…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).
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will try to snap their four-game losing streak tonight behind rookie RHP Hunter Brown as he faces the Mets for the first time in his young career…he’ll be opposed by future Hall of Famer RHP Max Scherzer, who’s gone 5-1 with a 3.32 ERA (23ER/62.1IP) in 10 career games (nine starts) against the Astros…those numbers include two starts for the Nationals in the 2019 World Series (4ER/10IP).
ROOKIE RESPECT: RHP Hunter Brown is making a strong bid for American League Rookie of the Year, as he ranks tied for second among AL rookies in fWAR (1.9), trailing only OF Luke Raley (2.1) and tied with 3B Josh Jung (1.9)…this is common for Houston, as the club has produced a top five finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting in four straight seasons: SS Jeremy Peña (5th in 2022), RHP Luis Garcia (2nd in 2021), RHP Cristian Javier (3rd in 2020) and LF Yordan Alvarez (1st in 2019).
GRINDERS: The Astros are within a streak of playing 26 games in 27 days (since May 26), and are 11-12 within this streak… over the last several weeks, the Astros played on 17 consecutive days (May 26-June 11) and are now within a run of playing on nine consecutive days (June 13-21).
YESTERDAY’S GAME: After tying it up in the 9th, the Astros fell to the Reds in 10 innings yesterday by a score of 9-7…the offense had a strong day, collecting 13 hits, including three-hit days by 3B Alex Bregman (3×5, RBI) and DH Yainer Diaz (3×5, RBI) and a two-RBI performance by CF Chas McCormick (2×5)…RHP Ronel Blanco (5ER/5.2IP) started for Houston and held the Reds to just two runs in his first 5.0 innings before running into trouble in the 6th…yesterday marked just the fourth time all season for the Astros to lose a game when outhitting their opponent.
TONIGHT’S FIRST PITCHES: The Astros will celebrate Juneteenth today with a pregame ceremony and ceremonial first pitch…additionally, University of Houston men’s basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson will also throw out a ceremonial first pitch…Sampson will be made available to the media tonight at approx. 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Astros press box.
WELCOME BACK JV!: The Astros will welcome back future Hall of Famer and Astros all-time great RHP Justin Verlander tonight in a pregame ceremony and ring presentation on the field…Verlander will be made available to the media today in the Mets clubhouse, which opens at 4:10 p.m…Verlander pitched for the Astros for parts of five seasons (2017-20, 2022), helping the club to their 2017 and 2022 World Series Championships… while with the Astros, Verlander went 61-19 with a 2.26 ERA in 102 regular season starts, while being named to three All-Star games (2018-19, 2022) and earning two Cy Young Awards (2019, 2022)…Verlander is also the Astros all-time leader in postseason starts (18) and wins (9).
MEET THE METS: The Astros and Mets played a memorable four games in 2022, with Houston sweeping a pair of two-game series in New York and Houston last June…the two clubs entered the National League together in 1962 and have gone on to play each other 577 times, with the Astros owning the all-time advantage 316-260-1…the Astros are 56 games over .500 against the Mets, their most against any single opponent, while their .548 winning percentage against the Mets is their best against any NL opponent.
TONIGHT’S TELECASTS: Tonight’s game will be televised locally by AT&T SportsNet SW with Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum and Julia Morales on the call…tonight’s game will also be televised nationally, but blacked out in Houston, by MLB Network…Matt Vasgersian, Yonder Alonso and Jon Paul Morosi will by behind the mic for MLB Network’s Showcase Game.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.33) and have allowed the second-fewest runs (273) in the Majors… the Astros starters rank second in Majors in ERA (3.36), while their bullpen checks in at fourth in the Majors in ERA (3.28).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
- Houston: 3.33 1. Tampa Bay: 272
- Tampa Bay: 3.49 2. Houston: 273
- Minnesota: 3.61 T3. Minnesota/San Diego: 276
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through sever- al injuries…below are a few updates on their sidelined players:
- RHP Lance McCullers Jr. underwent surgery last Tuesday to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm and remove a bone spur…McCullers will be out for the remainder of the year, but is expected to return at some point during the 2024 season.
- LF Yordan Alvarez has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain and is expected to be sidelined for four-plus weeks.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) tossed 10 pitches from the bullpen mound yesterday for the first time in his rehab process…the Astros will have a clearer timeline for his return in the coming days.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) hit on the field during Astros BP on Saturday as he continues to ramp up his baseball activities…his progress over the next two weeks will clear up the timeline for his return.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
LAST START – 6/13 VS. WAS: tossed 7.0 scoreless innings and struck out 4 batters while allowing 4 hits and 3 walks…matched his career-high in innings and longest scoreless outing…was his 5th start of the year in which he recorded 7.0 innings or more…recorded his 9th quality start in his 20th career appearance….became 13th Astros pitcher all time and the 1st since RHP José Urquidy (9, 2019-21) to log 9+ quality starts through their first 20 career outings.
STRIKEOUT KING: from May 14-May 31, he recorded 8+ K’s in 4 consecutive starts…the last Astros rookie to strike out 8+ batters in 4 consecutive starts was RHP Roy Oswalt, who did so in 6 straight games from Aug. 14-Sept. 9 in 2001…Brown owns 1 of 30 all-time streaks from Astros pitchers of 4+ starts with 8+ strikeouts, with LHP Framber Valdez the last to do so at 4 games from Aug. 4-Sept. 12 in 2022.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: among AL rookies, he ranks 1st in strikeouts (83), 1st in innings (75.1 IP), 1st in ERA (3.35), 1st in wins (6), 1st in opponent batting average (.233) and 1st in WHIP (1.19). (min 10 starts)
DIESEL: is averaging 91.9 mph with his slider, which is the hardest slider among all MLB pitchers, ahead of NYY RHP Gerrit Cole (89.3 mph) and MIA RHP Sandy Alcantara (89.1 mph).
HISTORIC START: his 2.82 career ERA is the lowest by an Astro through their first 20 career appearances, immediately ahead of RHP Ken Forsch (2.90) RHP Don Wilson (2.95) and RHP Jarred Cosart (3.12) (min 95 IP).
- his 105 career strikeouts are the 5th-most by an Astros pitcher through their first 20 career appearances, trailing RHP Tom Griffin (133 SO, 120 IP), RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (116 SO, 114.2 IP), RHP Bud Norris (108 SO, 99.1 IP), RHP Cristian Javier (107 SO, 98.1IP) and RHP Don Wilson (107 SO, 122 IP).
- started his career 5-0 through his first 12 games (7 starts)…per Elias, was 1st Astros pitcher to win their first 5 decisions since RHP Josh James won his first 7 decisions from 2018-19.
AMONG THE BEST: According to WAR produced by STATS, Brown has been one of the most valuable rookie in the AL this season with a 1.9 WAR…he is behind only TEX IF Josh Jung (2.0) and tied with OAK IF Ryan Noda (1.9) in that category…the Astros have had a top five finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting in four straight seasons: SS Jeremy Peña (5th in 2022), RHP Luis Garcia (2nd in 2021), RHP Cristian Javier (3rd in 2020) and LF Yordan Alvarez (1st in 2019).
SOLID STREAK: made back-to-back starts on April 9 and April 15 in which he recorded at least 7.0 IP without allowing an ER…the last Astros pitcher to do so was LHP Scott Kazmir, who made 2 such starts in a row in 2015 (July 24-July 30, 2015).
