NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the White Sox, 6-2, at Citi Field yesterday…The Mets finished their first homestand of the second-half going 3-3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers (1-2) and the Chicago White Sox (2-1)…Tonight, the Mets hit the road for a five-game, six-day road trip to Boston (three games) and The Bronx (two games).
ROSTER MOVES: Prior to yesterday’s game, the Mets placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 10-Day IL, retroactive to July 17, due to migraines… INF Mark Vientos was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse today.
SENGA GENESIS: Kodai Senga has recorded 122 strikeouts, the third-most by a Met through the first 17 starts of their career…He is behind only Dwight Gooden (133) and Nolan Ryan (128)…It is also the third-most by a Japanese-Born pitcher through the first 17 starts of their career trailing only Hideo Nomo (150) and Masahiro Tanaka (130).
25 OR 6 TO 5: Senga has struck out at least six batters while also allowing no more than five hits in each of his last six starts…That matches Sid Fernandez (1990) and Pedro Martinez (2006) for the third-longest single-season streak by any pitcher in Mets history…The only longer singles-eason streaks were both compiled by Jacob deGrom, with stretches of 12 such starts in 2021 and nine in 2022…Courtesy of Sportradar.
THE FRIENDLY GHOST: Senga has a 11.48 SO/9 rate, the sixth-highest mark in the majors among qualified starters…Is 10th in the NL and tied for 19th in the majors in strikeouts…Is ninth in the NL among qualifiers with a 3.20 ERA (34 ER/95.2 IP)…Senga leads all major league rookies in strikeouts, second among rookies in SO/9 (Min 50.0 IP) and tied for second among rookies with seven quality starts.
KAMPAI KODAI: Senga is set to make his eighth start of the road today… He is 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA (20 ER/45.1 IP) with 25 walks and 56 strikeouts in that span…However, Senga is 2-1 with a 1.33 ERA (3 ER/20.1 IP) with 24 strikeouts in his last three road starts.
SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON: The Mets face the Red Sox for the first time since 2021, when the they played a pair of home and away games from April 27-28 at Citi Field and September 21-22 at Fenway Park…The Mets have dropped six straight to the Red Sox and eight of the last 10…Overall, New York is 8-11 at Fenway Park (during the regular season. The Mets went 2-1 at Fenway during the 1986 World Series)…Omar Narvaez has hit .346 (9-26) with three runs, one double, three home run and three RBI in nine career games at the yard…Pete Alonso has homered thrice in four career games in Boston.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Mets hit the road for the first time in the second-half…New York is 22-29 on the road this season…The team’s 51 road games as tied for the most in the National League and are tied for second in the majors.
DOING THE SPLITS: Brandon Nimmo is batting .290 (58-236) with 27 runs, eight doubles, three triples, five home runs, 26 RBI, 29 walks, a .383 OBP, .435 SLG and an .818 OPS on the road…This compares to a .226/.332/.451 slashline with 18 extra-base hits at home…Francisco Lindor is a .256 (51-199) with 35 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 42 RBI, 20 walks, a .322 OBP, a .528 SLG and an .859 OPS on the road in 2023…He is slashing .195/.301/.371 with 14 extra-base hits at Citi Field this year… Lindor has reached base safely in 11 of his last 12 road games, batting .391 (18-46) with 12 runs, three doubles, two triples, four home runs, 12 RBI, seven walks, six steals, a .473 OBP, an .804 SLG and a 1.277 OPS.
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 29-5 when the starting pitcher throws at least 6.0 innings…New York has gone 14-1 when its starter pitches 7.0+ innings and are a perfect 5-0 when the starter completes 8.0 innings.
JULY! JULY! JULY!: The Mets are 9-5 through 14 games in this month… The team’s .643 winning percentage is tied for fifth in the majors and is tied for third in the National League…The Mets have posted a 3.21 ERA (45 ER/126.0 IP), the lowest ERA in National League in July…Only the Mariners (2.98 ERA) have a lower mark in July…The Mets have hit 21 homers this July, tied for the eighth-most in the majors.
THEY’RE OUT OF MY LEAGUE: The Mets are in a stretch of eight consecutive games against American League opponents…They are 2-1 in that span…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 12-11 against the American League this year…Overall, New York owns a 247-238 record in Interleague play… The team’s .509 winning percentage is the second-best among National
League clubs.
INTERLEAGUE PETE: Pete Alonso has hit 37 home runs in Interleague Play since the 2019 season…His 37 home runs against the American League is a franchise record, and the most among any player since 2019…Mike Piazza was the previous record holder with 28 Interleague home runs.
ALL-AMERICAN: Jeff McNeil has batted .315 (105-333) with 43 runs, 15 doubles, seven home runs, 41 RBI, 23 walks with a .368 OBP and a .423 SLG in 90 career games against the American League…McNeil’s .315 average ranks fifth among active players in Interleague games.
YOU CAN CALL ME AL: Francisco Alvarez leads all major league catchers in home runs and is tied for first among all rookies in homers with the Rangers’ Josh Jung…He is second in home runs in the majors this month with seven…Only San Diego’s Manny Machado has hit more with nine dingers…He is tied for seventh in MLB with 14 RBI this month and is hitting .356 (16-45) in July…Alvarez Francisco Alvarez has a .527 slugging percentage, which would be the highest ever by a Met in his age 21 season or younger…Only two other Mets have had a .500-plus slugging percentage at that age or younger: David Wright (.525 in 2004) and Darryl Strawberry (.512 mark in1983), both in their age 21 seasons.
SECOND HALF SQUAD: The Mets are 273-239 in the second half since 2015 (not including 2020)…New York has only posted a losing second half twice during that time frame (2021 and 2017)…New York’s .533 winning percentage during that span is the fifth-best in the NL, behind Los Angeles (.627), St. Louis (.600), Chicago (.575) and Milwaukee (.535).
BROOKS WAS HERE: Since returning from the IL on May 14, Brooks Raley has posted a 0.81 ERA (2 ER/22.1 IP) over 27 games…Raley has 18 holds, tied for the third-most in the NL and tied for the sixth-most in the majors… In 22 games at Citi Field this season, Raley has posted a 1.57 ERA (3 ER/17.1 IP) with five walks and 15 punchouts.
STEAL MY SUNSHINE: New York has been successful in all 15 of their stolen base attempts in July, bringing their season tally to 76 steals in 83 attempts…Their 76 steals are tied for 10th in the majors and tied for sixth in the NL…The team’s 91.6 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 50 of their last 51 stolen base attempts.
STARTING PITCHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
2023 STATS: 7-5, 3.20 ERA
SENGA GENESIS: Has recorded 122 strikeouts through his first 17 career major league games, that is the third-most by a Mets pitcher in franchise history…Only Dwight Gooden (133) and Matt Harvey (128) have recorded more in his first 17 career starts…His 122 strikeouts are the third-most by a Japanese born pitcher through 17 career games…He trails only Hideo Nomo (150), and Masahiro Tanaka (130).
KODAI THE FRIENDLY GHOST: Senga has won seven games during his rookie campaign, tying 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 lead all major league rookies this season and his 122 strikeouts are the most by any rookie…Among rookies with 50.0 or more innings pitched, Senga is second in the majors and first in the NL with a 11.48 SO/9 rate and third in the majors in opponent’s average (.203).
PUTTING THE K IN FORK: Senga’s “ghost fork” has accounted for 65 of his 122 strikeouts through 17 starts…The pitch has a 60.1 percent whiff rate and a 28.6 percent putaway rate…Opponents have managed just 11 hits in 93 at-bats ending with the forkball, a .118 batting average.
SHUT ‘EM OUT: On May 30 against the Phillies, Senga became the 10th rookie in franchise history to throw 7.0 or more innings, while one hit or less and was the first Met since Steven Matz did so on August 14, 2016…Joins Jonathon Niese, who tossed a complete game shutout on June 10, 2010, as the only Mets rookie to accomplish the feat without allowing a walk.
ALL I DO IS WIN: Senga became the only Japanese-born pitchers to start their career 3-0 and is the fourth player in franchise history to earn the win in their first two career major league starts, joining Steven Matz, Mike Pelfrey and Gary Gentry…Additionally, he joins Kazuhisa Ishii, Hideki Irabu and Koji Uehara as the only Japanese-born pitchers to win each of their first two career major league starts…Senga fell just shy of becoming the second Mets starting pitcher ever to begin his career 4-0, a record held by Steven Matz.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox own MLB’s best record since 6/30 (11-3) and the AL’s best since 6/14 (18-10). The Sox have won 8 of their last 10 games, including a 6-game winning streak from 7/5-14. At 51-45 (.531), Boston entered today with MLB’s 13th-best record.
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: The Red Sox yesterday announced the 6th annual “Christmas in July” fundraiser, running through 7/31…Donations and funds raised will help Boston
Children’s Hospital purchase meaningful items for patients and fill urgent needs for patient families and the hospital.
ON THE MEND: Pablo Reyes and John Schreiber are on rehab assignments with Boston’s minor league affiliates. Reyes has played in 8 games for Triple-A Worcester (4 games) and Double-A Portland (4), making 3 starts at 2B, 2 in CF, 2 at DH, and 1 at SS (10-for-29, 7 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 2 SB). Schreiber has made 4 appearances for the WooSox (3.2 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 3 SO)…He allowed 1 run (solo HR) over an inning of relief Sunday at Jacksonville. Trevor Story is scheduled to begin his rehab
assignment with Double-A Portland on Friday.
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox have won 4 consecutive series (at TOR, vs. TEX, vs. OAK, at CHC), improving to 17-11-2 in series play (home: 9-6-0, road: 8-5-2). They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 series, beginning 6/9. Boston has won back-to-back road series for the 1st time this season, after alternating results in their first 14 road series (W, L, W, L, W, T, W, L, W, L, W, T, L, W). The Sox are 15-15 in series openers, going 13-3-1 in series when they win Game 1. Boston is 8-3 in rubber games this season, including wins in each of their last 2 (7/6 vs. TEX and 7/16 at CHI).
IT’S GO TIME: The Red Sox are 6-2 so far in their stretch of 12-straight games against teams that currently own a sub- .500 record (3-game series vs. OAK, at CHC, at OAK, vs. NYM). 8 of their 11 series from 7/7-8/17 are against teams that entered today with record of .500 or lower.
SOX & A’S: 6 of the Red Sox’ 9 games from 7/7-19 are against the A’s…Boston swept OAK in a 3-game series at Fenway Park before the All-Star Break (7/7-9). The Sox have won 10 of their last 12 games vs. OAK (beginning 7/4/21), outscoring the A’s 68-22 in that span. The Sox have secured a season series win over the A’s…
They are 3-0-1 in season series vs. OAK since 2019.
BEST WESTERN: The Red Sox are 11-7 against AL West teams this season and 36-15 since the beginning of 2022, the best record of any AL team over the last 2 seasons.
The Sox have won their 4 home series against AL West teams and lost their only road series (3-1 vs. LAA, 2-1 vs. SEA, 0-3 at LAA, 2-1 vs. TEX, 3-0 vs. OAK).
SLUGGING SOX: In 13 July games, the Red Sox lead MLB in AVG (.301), SLG (.510), and OPS (.863), and rank 2nd in OBP (.353; 138-for-459, 39 2B, 3 3B, 17 HR, 35 BB).
The Sox have hit 14 HR in their last 7 games…Since 6/30, they rank 3rd in the AL and 8th in MLB with 20 HR. Red Sox players rank 1st, 2nd and 4th in the AL in AVG since 6/30 (min. 30 PA): Masataka Yoshida (2nd, .442), Jarren Duran (2nd, .409), and Justin Turner (4th, .396)…HOU’s Chas McCormick ranks 3rd (.405).
Overall, Yoshida ranks 3rd in the AL in AVG (.318), 4th in OBP (.380) and OPS (.883), and 7th in SLG (.503).
I GOT FIVE ON IT: The Sox have scored 5 or more runs in 9 of their last 14 games (84 total runs, 6.0 runs/game). Boston is an AL-best 41-6 (.872) when scoring 5+ runs, the 2nd-best record in MLB (ATL: 48-7, .873).
RISPY BUSINESS: The Red Sox have gone 11-for-30 (.367) with runners in scoring position in their last 3 games, after going 1-for-16 (.063) in their previous 2. Overall with RISP, BOS ranks 3rd in MLB in AVG (.282) and OBP (.357), and 4th in SO% (19.2).
HANG TEN: Boston has recorded 10+ hits in 10 of their last 13 games, including 7-straight games from 7/1-8…They’re the only team in MLB this season with 7-straight 10-hit games. Boston has recorded 10+ hits in 42 games, 2nd most in MLB behind TEX (50). The Sox are 34-8 (.810) when they record 10+ hits.
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 7th in MLB in SB% (81.8%, 63-for-77)…In 2022, they ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB% (52-for-72).
PITCHING IN: In their last 15 games (beginning 6/29), Red Sox pitchers have posted a 3.52 ERA (52 ER/133.0 IP)… During that span, Red Sox starting pitchers (including openers) are 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA and .228 opponent AVG (24 ER/61.0 IP, 51-for-223). Red Sox pitchers have recorded 9+ SO in 5 straight games, tying their longest streak this year (5/30-6/4).
TODAY’S STARTER: 66 BRAYAN BELLO – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 7-5 3.14 15 15 86.0 30 10 22 75 1.20 .245
CAREER 9-13 3.77 28 26 143.1 60 11 49 130 1.43 .274
Is making his 1st career start against the A’s. Earned his team-leading 7th win on Friday at CHC, after allowing 3 runs over 6.0 IP (8 H, 5 SO, 2 HR)…The Sox improved to 10-5 when he starts this season. Made his 7th consecutive quality start (starting 6/5 vs. TB)….Is the 1st Red Sox pitcher to do so prior to turning 25 years old since Eduardo Rodriguez in 2017 (also 7 from 4/23-5/26/17). Is 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA, .208 opponent AVG, and 0.93 WHIP in his last 6 starts (40.2 IP, 10 R, 31-for-149, 7 BB, 29 SO, HB). Has tossed 6.0+ innings in each of his last 7 starts (7.0+ in 4 of his last 5). Is 3-1 with a 3.13 ERA (13 ER/37.1 IP) in 6 starts on the road this season.
