NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: Last night, the Mets came from behind in the ninth inning to down the Diamondbacks, 2-1, as they continue their final road trip (2-0) before the All-Star Break…New York is 10-18 over its last 28 games…The team wraps up a three-game set tonight vs. Arizona (2-0) and will conclude the first half with a three-game series in San Diego from July 7 – July 9.
STREAK NOW: New York has won four straight games for the first time since a season-high-tying five straight games from May 17-May 21…Prior to this stretch, the Mets had won consecutive games one time since the start of June, a two-game win streak June 14 vs. New York-AL and June 16 vs. St. Louis.
HEATING UP, BUT IT’S A DRY HEAT: The Mets are playing their fourth series in the Pacific Time Zone this season…New York is 9-3 in 12 games played at ballparks
in PT this year…The Mets went 3-0 in Oakland, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium, 2-2 in San Francisco in April and are now 2-0 in Arizona…New York’s West Coast portion of
the schedule wraps up this weekend with a three-game set at San Diego.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Mets captured their second consecutive series win after taking the first two contests of their current three-game series against Arizona…It is the first time New York has won back-to-back series since taking two out three from the Rays (May 16-18) and sweeping the Guardians (May 19-21)…The last time the Mets swept the D-backs in a three-game series was May 7-9, 2021 in New York…The time it happened in Arizona was April 14-16, 2014.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: New York was down to a two-out, two-strike situation in the ninth inning last night trailing, 1-0, before Francisco Alvarez launched a game-tying solo shot…Mark Canha followed with an RBI triple to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish…It was the first time the Mets won after being down to their “final strike” in the ninth inning since April 25, 2022 at St. Louis, when the club rallied for five runs with two outs in the ninth inning to defeat the Cards, 5-2.
UNIQUE NEW YORK: Per Elias, New York’s game-winning rally featuring a game-tying home run and go-ahead triple was the first of its kind in the ninth inning or later in franchise history…The last time any MLB team hit a game-tying home run and go-ahead triple in the same inning in the ninth or extras was September 27, 2012, when Cincinnati defeated Milwaukee, also by a score of 2-1, via a Todd Frazier game-tying solo homer and a walk-off triple by Dioner Navarro in the ninth.
MOMENTUM!: Last night’s win was the 11th time New York has won a game in which it trailed in the ninth or later since the start of last year…Elias says that in the game following those 10 previous comeback wins, New York has gone 7-3 (.700).
FRANCISCO INFERNO: Francisco Alvarez has homered in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season and has three long balls in his last four appearances… His 15 homers this season are tied for the most by any catcher (also, Sean Murphy and Salvador Perez)…He ranks third among rookies in home runs…Alvarez has eclipsed Travis d’Arnaud’s previous franchise record for home runs by a rookie catcher…Alvarez’s 15 home runs are tied for the third-most in a season by a catcher in his age-21 season or younger behind Johnny Bench (26, age 21, 1969), Darrell Porter (16, age 21, 1973)…Johnny Bench also hit 15 at age 20 in 1968… Courtesy of Sarah Langs.
THE ‘CISCO KID: Alvarez now has five game-tying/go-ahead home runs in the sixth inning or later, the most by any player in 2023, according to Sarah Langs…It was his second game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning this season… Only three other Mets have done that over the course of their entire tenure with the club: Mike Piazza, Todd Hundley and Dave Marshall (Alvarez is the only one with both in the same season)…He is the first Mets rookie to hit a game-tying/go-ahead home run with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning or later since Victor Diaz (September 25, 2004, game-tying, three-run home run)…Courtesy of Elias.
CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Mark Canha’s go-ahead RBI triple in the ninth inning yesterday represented his fourth game-winning RBI since May 31…Canha has been responsible for driving in the game-winning run in four of the last seven Mets wins he has appeared in…Over that span (since May 31), he is slashing .283/.405/.517 with three doubles, a triple, three homers, 14 RBI and six runs.
SNAKE CHARMER: Francisco Lindor has reached base safely in 16 of his 17 career games played vs. Arizona, hitting safely in 15 of the 17 contests…All told, he has
posted a .338/.397/.618 slashline with 12 RBI and 15 runs scored against the Diamondbacks.
CHASE IS OASIS: Starling Marte has hit safely in 39 of 43 career games against the Diamondbacks and has posted a .341/.384/.600 slashline with eight homers, 18 doubles, three triples and 33 RBI vs. Arizona…In 38 career games at Chase Field, including 18 games played at the venue as a member of Arizona in 2020, Marte owns a .365 (54-148) average, the third-best mark in the venue’s history (min. 100 AB).
SPOOKY ROOKIE: Last night, Kodai Senga earned his seventh win of the season, tied with Steven Matz for the most first-half wins by a Mets rookie since 2012… The last Mets rookie hurler to win more games was Robert Gsellman (eight wins in 2017)…Senga’s seven wins, 113 strikeouts and 3.31 ERA are the best marks by any qualified major league rookie this season.
K IS FOR KODAI: Senga’s 12 punchouts last night tied a career-high…He is one of seven pitchers, and the only rookie, with multiple 12+ K games this season… All other rookies have combined for one 12-K game in 2023 (Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott, July 2)…Spencer Strider (three last season) was the last pitcher with more such games in his rookie campaign…Only 11 other pitchers in Mets history have struck out 12 or more in a game multiple times in one season: Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, David Cone, Nolan Ryan, Al Leiter, R.A. Dickey, Pedro Martinez, Jerry Koosman, Matt Harvey and Sid Fernandez.
CATCH US IF YOU CAN: New York has been successful in all eight of their stolen base attempts in July, bringing their season tally to 69 steals in 76 attempts…Their 69 steals are tied for eighth in the majors and tied for fifth in the NL…The team’s 90.8 percent success rate is the best in the majors…The Mets had a franchise-record run of 35 consecutive stolen bases without being caught from May 14- June 29…Overall, New York has been successful in 43 of their last 44 stolen base attempts…Starling Marte has swiped 23 bags this year, sixth in the majors and third in the National League…His 337 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 341 steals.
INVADER NIM: Brandon Nimmo is tied for fourth in the majors with nine home runs since June 8…Nimmo now has 13 home runs, tied for his most before the All-Star break in his career (also, 2018)…Seven of his 13 homers have tied the game or given New York the lead…He has a .944 OPS over his last 24 games with three doubles, nine homers, 20 RBI and 14 runs…He is tied for third in the majors and shares the NL lead with nine game-winning RBI this season and tied for fourth in the NL and tied for seventh in the majors with 16 go-ahead RBI.
DR. ROBERTSON: David Robertson has recorded a save on back-to-back days for the third time this season (also, April 15-16 and May 30-31)…He recorded his 13th save of the year yesterday…The veteran right-hander has posted a 2-2 record with 13 saves and a 1.88 ERA (8 ER/38.1 IP) in 35 appearances this season…He has walked 11, while striking out 45…He ranks seventh in ERA among NL relievers…He is tied for 17th in the NL with 45 punchouts as a reliever…He is holding left-handed hitters to a .189 (13-74) average this year.
WHAT A PERFORMANCE!: Congrats to Head Performance Coach Dustin Clarke who will manage the NL’s strength and conditioning at the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle, WA…Clarke is in his ninth season as the head performance coach and his 13th season in the organization.
STARTING PITCHER – CARLOS CARRASCO RHP #59
2023 STATS: 2-3, 5.94 ERA
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 5.0 innings against the Giants at Citi Field on June 30… Allowed two earned runs on five hits and three walks in a 5-4 Mets loss…Fanned a season-high six batters against San Francisco.
DOMINATING THE DESERT: Carrasco will face Arizona for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career…In his last start against the Diamondbacks on April 16, 2022 at Citi Field, he threw 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while fanning eight batters…Throughout his career against Arizona, Carrasco has pitched to a 1.29 ERA (2 ER/14.0 IP) and holds a 1-0 record in three appearances, two of which were starts…His one win against Arizona came on June 29, 2011, during which he allowed two earned runs on four hits in 7.0 innings while striking out seven batters…Has held Diamondbacks batters to a .143 average with a .208 OBP throughout his career.
COOKIE CRISP: In his last start against the Giants on June 30, Carrasco tallied a season-high 18 whiffs and six whiffs on four-seam fastballs…According to Baseball Savant, Carrasco also currently stands in the 82nd percentile in curve spin.
COOKIE’S COMEBACK: In his starts on May 25 and May 31 against Chicago-NL and Philadelphia, respectively, Carrasco allowed just two runs over 12.2 innings compared to 18 runs allowed across the 18.2 innings he threw in his first four starts of the season…In those 12.2 innings, Carrasco fanned eight batters, which equals the total strikeouts he tallied in his first three starts of the year.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
TOP OF THE WEST: The D-backs are in first place in the NL West (+1.5) and have spent 58 days in/tied for first place in the division.
RECORD AMONG THE REST: The D-backs’ 50-37 (.575) season record is sixth in the Majors, behind the Braves (58-28, .674), Rays (57-32, .640), Orioles (50-35, .588) Rangers (51-36, .586) and Marlins (51-37, .580).
VS. METS: The D-backs are 9-9 vs. Mets in their last 18 matchups @ Chase Field (since 2017).
♦ Last year, the D-backs went 2-4 vs. Mets, including 1-2 @ home.
CANZONE, PFAADT SWEEP PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE MONTHLY HONORS:
Triple-A Reno OF Dominic Canzone and RHP Brandon Pfaadt were named Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month respectively for June.
♦ Canzone slashed .430/.478/.759 and led the league in AVG (.430), SLG (.759) and OPS (1.237)…the D-backs’ No. 19 prospect was second in hits (34) and doubles (9), third in total bases (60) and OBP (.478) and fourth in RBI (25).
♦ Pfaadt went 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA (9 ER in 25.2 IP) in 5 starts…his 28 strikeouts were second most in the league, and he walked only 5 batters.
START US UP:D-backs starters’ 3.52 ERA since June 25 ranks fourth in the NL, behind the Mets (2.25), Braves (2.51) and Padres (2.65).
♦ In the span, the D-backs’ starting rotation has allowed the fewest hits (36) in the NL, ahead of the Reds (42) and Giants (46), and boasts the best WHIP (1.01), ahead of the Giants (1.14) and Braves (1.17).
♦ They also have the sixth-most innings pitched (53.2), behind the Brewers (66.1), Braves (57.1), Mets (56.0), Cubs (54.2) and Phillies (54.1).
SWIPING BAGS: The D-backs’ 85 stolen bases are fourth in the Majors behind the Rays (106), Reds (106) and A’s (89).
♦ Since June 8, the D-backs are 23-for-23 in stolen base attempts (18 @ second base, 5 @ third), the best stolen base percentage in the Majors, ahead of the Mets (96.4, 27-for-28) and Phillies (96.3, 26-for27).
bWAR LEADERBOARD: Corbin Carroll’s 3.8 WAR is featured among the Majors’ top 10 in Offensive WAR [fielding excluded] (2nd behind Ronald Acuña Jr./ATL), Position Players WAR (T-6th with Mookie Betts/LAD) and Overall WAR (T-7th with Mookie Betts/LAD).
SEEING IT WELL: Since May 1, the D-backs’ 9.7 walk pct. is third in the Majors, behind the Padres (11.3) and Dodgers (10.0) while their 217 walks (58 games) are fourth in the Majors, behind the Padres (251 BB in 58 G), Dodgers (224 BB in 57 G) and Reds (220 BB in 60 G).
EXTRA! EXTRA! The D-backs’ 61 straight games with an extra-base hit (since April 28, 36-25 record) is the Majors’ second-longest active streak behind the Angels (62, since April 29, 2023)…it is also the second-longest streak in a season in club history behind the 69-gamer from July 18-Oct. 7, 2001.
STRIKING FAST: Among teams in the first 2.0 innings since June 16, the D-backs are second with a .562 SLG and 31 runs, third with 19 extra-base hits and tied for third with 15 walks.
DEFENDERS OF THE DIAMOND: The D-backs’ .990 fielding pct. is the best in the Majors while their 30 errors committed are the fewest.
♦ The D-backs 24 team defensive runs saved ranks third in the NL, behind the Brewers (26) and Padres (22).
♦ Christian Walker’s 8 Outs Above Average (OAA) and 6 Runs Above Average (RAA) lead all MLB first basemen, ahead of Anthony Rizzo/NYY (5 OAA/4 RAA) and Nathaniel Lowe/TEX (5 OAA/4 RAA).
FOR THE TAKING: The D-backs’ 105 bases taken lead the Majors while their 49 pct. extra bases taken percentage is tied for the best in MLB (also: Rays and Reds), ahead of the Braves (48%) and Orioles (47%).
Pct. runner advanced more than 1 base on single or 2+ bases on a double.
NO SHUTOUT STREAK CONTINUES, NINTH BEST SINCE 1998: The D-backs’ club-record 87 games without a shutout to start the season is the Majors’ eighth-longest single-season streak since 1998 and 2 shy of the 2017 Yankees’ run: Reds (163 G, April 3-Oct. 1, 2000), Rangers (160 G, April 1-Oct. 5, 2001), Yankees (138 G, March 28-Sept. 1, 2019), Orioles (133 G, April 2-Aug. 31, 2007), Rangers (96, March 31-July 13, 2008), Tigers (April 5-July 16, 2012), Yankees (89 G, April 2-July 16 [GM1], 2017).
♦Arizona is the only team to not be shut out in 2023.
ON DECK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES: Following tonight’s game, the D-backs will round out the first half of the season with 3 games vs. Pirates.
♦ The D-backs went 2-1 in their series @ PNC Park from May 19-21.
♦ Since 2019, the D-backs are 8-2 vs. Pirates @ Chase Field and have won 7 of their last 8 games…in 2022, they went 3-1 in the 4-game set, outscoring the Pirates 22-13.
STARTING PITCHER – RHP RYNE NELSON ♦ #19
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA (5 ER in 19.1 IP) in his last 3 starts… the D-backs are 2-1 in those contests.
- The D-backs are 7-3 in his last 10 bids.
- In search of his first win against an NL East team.
- Is facing a new opponent for the twelfth time this season… has faced the Marlins, Royals, Rockies, Nationals, Giants, Athletics, Phillies, Braves, Tigers, Brewers and Angels for the first time in 2023.
- Has exited 12 of his 17 starts with the lead or tied.
LAST START: Tossed a career-high 7.1 innings on July 7 @ Angels allowing 1 run on 3 hits…allowed a home run to Anthony Rendon in the fourth inning.
- Posted his second straight start of 7.0 plus innings pitched, 3 hits and 1 earned run with 6 strikeouts… owns a 1.26 ERA (2 ER in 14.1 IP) in his last 2 starts.
VS. METS Making his first career start.
PITCH TRACKING: Opposing batters are hitting .171 (7-for-41) with 9 strikeouts off his changeup and .205 (9-for-44) with 10 strikeouts off his slider.
- His changeup usage has gone up over his last nine starts (11.1% to 16.1%)… opponents are batting .156 (5-32 AB) vs. his changeup over that nine-start stretch.
LEFT ON LEFT: Is holding lefties to a .167 average (10-for-60) over his last 5 starts.
IT’S UNDER CONTROL: Has walked 2 or fewer batters in 12 of his 17 starts.
FIRST PITCH SUCCESS: His first-pitch swing (23.2 to 33.2) and first-pitch strike (53.6 to 61.9) percentages are up from 2022.
BATTED BALL STATS: His ground ball percentage is up to 37.5 from 25.5 while his fly ball percentage is down to 28.7 from 44.7.
THIRD TIME THROUGH: In his third time thru the lineup, is limiting batters to a .222 average (16-for-72) with 8 walks and 10 strikeouts.
NASTY NELLY: Is 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA (7 ER in 32.1 IP) when he pitches 6.0+ innings.
INNING INFO: Owns a 1.08 ERA (1 ER in 8.1 IP) with a .103 opponent average (3-for-29) and 8 strikeouts.
0-2 GOT YOU: Opponents are 3-for-38 (.079) with 15 strikeouts on an 0-2 count.
