NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Cardinals, 4-2, to open up the road trip…The Mets have won three of their last four games…The Mets continue a seven-game road trip (1-0) to St. Louis (1-0) and Atlanta (three games).
EN FUEGO: Tonight, LHP Joey Lucchesi is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and make the start…He is 1-0 with a 4.43 ERA (11 ER/22.1 IP) with eight walks and 17 strikeouts in five starts with the Mets this season…The lefty has made 11 starts (12 games) at Triple-A Syracuse this season and posted a 6-3 record with a 4.39 ERA (30 ER/67.2 IP) with 30 walks and 63 strikeouts.
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Jose Quintana, Trevor Gott and Tim Locastro recorded their respective first win, first save and first home run as a Met Thursday night…It marked the first time three Mets had notched those Met “firsts” in the same game since April 20, 1967, when Tommy Davis hit his first Met homer, Don Shaw was credited with his first Met save and starter Tom Seaver picked up his first Met — and career — win…The only other time such a trio of initial events occurred in the same game was one week earlier, April 13, 1967, when the starter was also Seaver (his first MLB game), Chuck Estrada claimed the victory in relief for his first and only Met win; Ron Taylor notched his first Met save, while Jerry Buchek delivered his first Met homer…Credit to Faith and Fear in Flushing research.
REVOLUTION NO. 9: Brandon Nimmo is on a nine-game hitting streak, which is the third-longest of his career…He is batting .412 (14-34) with three runs, two doubles, two home runs, seven walks, three RBI with a 1.159 OPS in that span…He has slugged his 17 homers this season, matching his single-season career-high mark set in 2018…Nimmo is batting .291 (43-148) with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run, 12 RBI, 12 walks and a .363 OBP against left-handed pitchers this year.
THIS IS ALMOST 40: Last night, Pete Alonso launched his 37th home run of the season…He is third in the majors and second in the National League in home runs…Alonso has recorded 40 or more home runs twice in his career…He socked 53 in 2019 and 40 last season…He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs…Since he entered the league in 2019, only two other players have recorded multiple seasons with 40 or more home runs (Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout)…Alonso’s 183 home runs since he entered the league in 2019 are the most in the major leagues.
RANK PLAYER HR
- Darryl Strawberry 252
- David Wright 242
- Mike Piazza 220
- Howard Johnson 192
- Pete Alonso 183
RANK PLAYER RBI
- Carlos Beltrán 559
- Edgardo Alfonzo 538
T8. Cleon Jones 521
T8. Jose Reyes 521 - Pete Alonso 471
METS CAREER LEADERS
THE ROAD TO 100: Pete Alonso is third in the majors and in the NL with 91 RBI…He has previously recorded two seasons with 100 RBI (120 in 2019 and 131 in 2022)…He is seeking to become the fourth player in Mets history to record three or more seasons with 100 or more RBI…David Wright is the franchise leader with five such seasons…Carlos Beltrán and Darryl Strawberry recorded three seasons each.
SLIPPERY PETE: Alonso is hitting .289 (28-97) with 17 extra-base hits, 29 RBI, 17 runs, 12 walks and a 1.087 OPS in his last 27 games…He was hitting .132 (12-91) with seven extra-base hits and a .549 OPS over his previous 25 games (since his return from the IL on June 18).
THE SOUND OF REFRESHMENT: Rafael Ortega is a lifetime .348 (16-46) hitter with four runs, two doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBI and three walks with a .388 OBP and a .500 SLG in 14 career games at Busch Stadium…Pete Alonso has gone 13-37 (.351) with nine runs, two doubles, two triples, one home run, three RBI and seven walks in 11 career games at the ballpark…Omar Narváez has appeared in 14 games at the yard and is 16-50 with three doubles, one triple and four RBI.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Mets are 25-38 on the road this year…They have posted a 4.88 ERA in away games…New York has played 63 games on the road this year…That is tied for the most in the majors.
DOING THE SPLITS: Brandon Nimmo is batting .291 (67-230) with 32 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 29 RBI, 33 walks, a .381 OBP and a .443 SLG on the road this season…This compares to a .238/.345/.444 slashline with 21 extra-base hits at home…Francisco Lindor is a .262 (64-244) with 42 runs, 18 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 48 RBI, 24 walks, a .337 OBP, and a .512 SLG on the road in 2023… He is slashing .223/.322/.398 with 18 extra-base hits at Citi Field this year.
I DECLARE fWAR: Francisco Lindor ranks 10th in the majors and fifth in the National League with a 4.6 fWAR…Since he joined the Mets, Lindor has posted a 15.6 fWAR…Only Freddie Freeman (17.8) and Mookie Betts (15.6) have posted a higher mark in the Senior Circuit…His 15.6 fWAR since 2021 ranks fifth in the majors in that span.
LINSANITY: Over Francisco Lindor’s last 50 games, he is batting .292 (54-185) with 36 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 29 RBI, 26 walks, 14 steals with a .384 OBP, a .530 SLG and a .914 OPS…Lindor has stolen 20 bases in 120 games this season, exceeding his total from 2022 (16 steals in 161 games)…His career-best is 25 steals 158 games in 2018.
JEFF McHITS: Jeff McNeil has safely hit in 11 of his last 13 games, batting .313 (15-48) with nine runs, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, four walks and seven RBI in that span with a .382 OBP…In 32 games following the All-Star break, McNeil is batting .268 (33-123) with 18 runs, five doubles, one triple, two home runs, 15 RBI, seven walks with a .331 OBP… He has struck out only 11 times in 136 plate appearances following the All-Star break.
PLAYER HOME RUNS YEAR
Johnny Bench 26 1969
Francisco Alvarez 21 2023
Darrell Porter 16 1973
Johnny Bench 15 1968
Research courtesy of Sarah Langs
MOST HR IN AGE-21 SEASON OR YOUNGER, AL/NL CATCHERS:
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 36-10 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.
STARTING PITCHER – JOEY LUCCHESI LHP #47
2023 STATS: 1-0, 4.43 E R A
LAST TIME OUT IN THE MAJORS: Lucchesi threw 2.0 innings on May 13 at Nationals Park against Washington, allowing one earned run on four hits and a walk…Fanned one Nationals batter in a 3-2 Mets loss.
REHAB ASSIGNMENT RECAP: Made two appearances with Brooklyn (A+) as part of his rehab assignment after being placed on the 7-day IL, both against the Aberdeen IronBirds…Threw 52 pitches in his first rehab start on August 8, allowing one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out five…On August 13, threw 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while fanning three batters in a 63-pitch outing.
SOMETHING IN THE CARDS: Lucchesi will face the Cardinals for the first time this season and the first time since 2021…He has faced St. Louis twice previously in his career, pitching to a 0-1 record with a 9.00 ERA (8 ER/8.0 IP).
SLINGIN’ IN SYRACUSE: Lucchesi has made 12 appearances, 11 of which were starts, this season for Triple-A Syracuse…In those appearances, he has pitched to a 3.99 ERA (30 ER/67.2 IP) and has tallied 63 strikeouts…Lucchesi has held opponents to a .224 average thus far, while pitching to a 1.27 WHIP…Lucchesi earned International League Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 12-18 after tossing 6.2 scoreless innings against the Buffalo Bisons on June 13, during which he allowed two hits while striking out six batters.
CAN’T WAIT TO GET ON THE ROAD AGAIN: In three away games in the majors this season, Lucchesi has pitched to a 3.46 ERA (5 ER/13.0 IP), tallying 10 strikeouts, and earned his one win on the year thus far in San Francisco on April 21…In two home starts this season, Lucchesi has pitched to a 5.79 ERA (6 ER/9.1 IP).
PUTTING UP GOOSE EGGS: Dating back to June 13, 2021, Lucchesi tossed 18.1 straight scoreless innings, a career-best scoreless streak, which came to an end on April 27 against the Nationals…Among starting pitchers, Lucchesi’s scoreless streak was the third-longest active scoreless streak in the majors at the time, behind Zac Gallen (28.0 innings) and Gerrit Cole (20.0 innings)
JOEY FUEGO: Made his major league debut on March 30, 2018 while with San Diego in a start against Milwaukee…Played for the Padres for three season before coming to the Mets in 2021…As a Met, Lucchesi–who adopted the nickname “Fuego” while in college-made eight starts in 11 appearances in 2021, pitching to a 4.46 ERA (19 ER/38.1 IP) and racking up 41 strikeouts before his season was cut short after undergoing “Tommy John” surgery…Made his Mets debut in relief on April 7, 2021 at Philadelphia, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings… Pitched to a 1.19 ERA (3 ER/22.2 IP) with 24 strikeouts over his last five outings of the 2021 season before his season-ending injury.
TROUBLE WITH THE CHURVE: Has gained attention throughout his career for a pitch he created, called the “churve”…Developed from a basic changeup, Lucchesi holds the ball deep in his palm and tinkered with his wrist action and position to throw the pitch in a similar nature to a breaking ball…Since then, it is a go-to weapon for Lucchesi…In 2019, his churve had an average 8.9 vertical drop, per Statcast, which was the most movement of any pitcher’s changeup by more than a full inch…According to Baseball Savant, Lucchesi’s pitch arsenal also featured a sinker, curve, cutter and change the last time he was in the majors.
LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win after tossing 6.0 innings against Atlanta at Citi Field on August 13…Allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks… Struck out seven Braves batters in a 7-6 Mets victory.
KODAI THE FRIENDLY GHOST: Senga’s nine wins are tied for the most among all major league rookies this season and his 149 strikeouts are the most by any rookie…Among rookies with 50.0 or more innings pitched, Senga is third in the majors and second in the NL with a 10.93 SO/9 rate and fifth in the majors in
opponent’s average (.217).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets play the second game of a four-game weekend series tonight at Busch Stadium … St. Louis opened its homestand by taking two-of-three from the Oakland Athletics … The current seven-game homestand features teams with lowest ($56.8 million) and highest ($330.6 million) Opening Day payrolls. FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter the day in 5th place in the NL Central, 11.0 games out of first place and 9.0 games back in the NL Wild Card chase … St. Louis has spent 102 of 137 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 50-72 (.410) after 122 games … St. Louis needs to go 27-13 (.675) over the remaining 40 games to finish at .500.
WINNING TIME: The Cardinals have announced they that have selected the contract of SS Masyn Winn from Memphis (AAA) and placed OF Lars Nootbaar (lower abdomen contusion) on the 10-day injured list … The 21-year-old Winn, who was the Cardinals 2nd round draft choice (54th overall) in 2020, is currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s top prospect (16th overall prospect) … The right-handed hitting Winn is batting .288 with an .833 OPS, 18 home runs, 61 RBI and 17 stolen bases in his first season of play at Triple-A … His minor league-leading 99 runs scored has established a new Memphis Redbirds (1998-present) single-season record, while his 128 hits rank tied for 2nd among all Triple-A players.
WINSANITY: Masyn Winn (age 21-150) tonight becomes the youngest Cardinal to make his MLB debut at starting shortstop since Garry Templeton (age 20-138) on Aug. 9, 1976 vs. Houston at Busch Stadium II … Winn is also the first Cardinal to make his MLB debut at starting shortstop since Aledmys Diaz (April 5, 2016 at Pittsburgh) and first to do so in front of the home crowd in St. Louis in the last 47 seasons since Templeton (Aug. 9, 1976).
BIRDS EYE VIEW: Richie Palacios became the newest Cardinal to sport glasses in a game, joining notables INF George “Specs“ Toporcer (1921-28), OF Chick Hafey (1924-31), OF Bill Virdon (1955-56), 2B Julián Javier (1960-71), RHP Dick Hughes (1966-68), C Dave Ricketts (1963-69), 1B Dick Allen (1970), 2B Cookie Rojas (1970), C Darrell Porter (1981-85), RHP Tom Henke (1995), 3B Chris Sabo (1995), RHP Joe Kelly (2012-14), LHP Brett Cecil (2017-18), and LHP Tyler Webb (2018-21).
FIRST TIMES A CHARM?: Dating back to 2022, the last four Cardinals to make their MLB debuts as a starter in the lineup have each reached base safely in the first career plate appearance: RF Juan Yepez (double, May 4, 2022 at Kansas City); RF Alec Burleson (walk, Sept. 8, 2022 vs. Washington); RF Jordan Walker (single, March 30, 2023 vs. Toronto); and DH Luken Baker (single, June 4, 2023 at Pittsburgh).
REHABBING REDBIRDS: All-Star closer Ryan Helsley (right forearm tightness) is scheduled to resume his injury rehabilitation assignment tonight at Memphis (AAA) … On the shelf since June 10, Helsley has previously made three rehab appearances at Springfield (AA) in August … RHP Jake Woodford (right shoulder strain) continued his injury rehabilitation assignment last night at Memphis (AAA), throwing 40 pitches over 1.2 innings.
GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. DO NOT PASS GO: Cardinals outfielders have gunned down 24 baserunners this season, 3rd-most in Major League Baseball behind the Rockies (25) and Royals (30) … Jordan Walker, who has three assists in his last eight games, is averaging 93.6 mph on outfield throws, 12th-fastest among all MLB players (Colorado’s Nolan Jones leads at 98.4) and tops among all Cardinals since Statcast began tracking (2020-23) … Walker’s five outfield assists this season tie Lars Nootbaar for the team lead.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP ZACK THOMPSON (2-4, 3.96)
TONIGHT’S GAME
- Second year player and former Cardinals 1st round draft pick (2019, 19th player overall) is making his 2nd start of the 2023 season and the 3rd of his young career.
- Is facing the NY Mets for the 1st time in his career.
- His two prior MLB career starts came on 6/13/22 vs. PIT (ND) and 8/6/23 vs. COL (L, 1-0). Has received zero runs in support in his two career starts for St. Louis.
- Matched season-high with 4.0 IP on 8/11 at KC in relief of Wainwright, yielding 1 run. Retired 11 of his last 13 batters faced, struck out 5, and had season-high 73 pitches.
- Made 2nd career start on 8/6 vs. COL & established career-high in strikeouts (8) and season-highs at the time in innings (4.0) and pitches (60).
- The eight strikeouts were the most by a Cards left-hander making his 2nd career start in franchise history.
- Recalled on 8/1 from Memphis (AAA) – his 3rd stint with the Cardinals this season.
- Appeared in just four games between St. Louis & Memphis (AAA) in July.
- Has appeared in 11 games (9 starts) at Memphis & made 17 relief appearnaces (1 start) for St. Louis this season, totaling 59.1 IP overall in 2023.
- Earned his 1st win since 4/14 vs. PIT on 7/19 vs. MIA, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings on 29 pitches.
- Induced 2 GIDP in 2.0 IP or fewer on 7/19 vs. MIA; 1st Cards pitcher to do so since Luke Weaver on 8/17/17 at PIT.
- Was 1-4 with a 8.66 ERA at Memphis, striking out 41 batters over 34.1 IP while issuing 39 walks.
LAST TIME OUT
- Came on in the relief of Adam Wainwright in 2nd inning last Fri. (8/11) at Kauffman Stadium with no outs and the Cardinals trailing 8-0. Allowed solo HR to Savlador Perez, then retired 11 of this last 13 batters faced.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
8/11 @KC L 12-8 — 4.0 4 1 1 0 3 5 73-43
