Series Preview: Mets Set To Battle Weather And The Rockies In Colorado
The New York Mets (5-3) were snowed out on Friday in Colorado , their seventh postponement in the season’s first sixteen days. The Mets, having won three games in a row against the Phillies and four of their last five, will try again on Saturday to take on Bud Black’s Colorado Rockies (3-10) in a modified three-game weekend set. The teams will attempt to play a straight doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
It’s hard to know if and how the games will played, as the weather in Denver is forecast to remain difficult, especially on Saturday. While Saturday will be dry, the game time temperature for the first game will be in the 30s, dropping into the low 20s during scheduled game two. Sunday should be a nicer day, with sunshine and highs in the mid-50s.
The Mets need to get into some type of rhythm by playing a normal schedule, and that may be impacted by the weather this weekend. Since this is the Mets’ only trip to Colorado this season, any postponements would need to be re-scheduled when the teams can find mutual off days this season.
Let’s take a look at the projected pitching matchups for the series.
Game One Saturday, April 17th, RHP Jacob deGrom (0-1) NYM vs RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (1-0) Colorado, 5:10 pm
DeGrom has made two starts this season, and been the dominant pitcher he’s expected to be. In his first start against the Phillies on April 5, the DeLand, FL native tossed six shutout innings, allowing three hits, striking out seven and walking two. He followed that with a stellar effort against the Marlins on April 10, working eight innings, allowing one run on five hits with 14 strikeouts. He took the loss in that game, as the Mets were shutout by a 3-0 score.
On the season, deGrom has a 0.71 WHIP to go with a sparkling 0.64 ERA. The Mets need to find a way to score for their ace. They’ve scored just two runs total in his two starts, carrying on a problem that’s gone on since the 2018 season. It’s almost hard to believe that despite his talent and back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019, deGrom is just 70-52 for his career, and won just 21 games combined in his Cy Young seasons.
Gonzalez is 1-0 on the season, with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Gonzalez has made three starts, throwing a combined ten innings, allowing nine hits and striking out five. For his career, the Del Ray Beach, FL native is 7-16 over four years, with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.
The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 am.
Game Two, Saturday, April 17th, LHP Joey Lucchesi (0-0) NYM vs RHP German Marquez (0-1) Colorado (game time TBD)
Lucchesi will make his first start as a Met on Saturday. After being acquired from the Padres last off season, the Newark, CA native has appeared in one game for the Mets, pitching two innings in relief on April 7 against the Phillies, allowing one hit and striking out three.
Lucchesi has mainly been a starter in his career, starting 30 games in 2018 and 26 games in 2019 with the Padres. Over his three-year career, Lucchesi is 18-20 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. With the injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard, Lucchesi projects to be the Mets fifth starter until either of the veterans returns.
Marquez has started three games this far this season, pitching 15. 2 innings, allowing 17 hits and seven earned runs, striking out 14 and walking 11, for an ERA of 4.02 and a 1.79 WHIP. Marquez is a five-year veteran, with a career record of 42-31, a 4.24 ERA, and a a 1.28 WHIP.
The game can be seen locally on WPIX and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 am.
Sunday, April 18th, RHP Marcus Stroman (2-0) NYM vs RHP Antonio Senzatela (1-2) Colorado, 3:10 pm
Stroman has been outstanding in his two starts, both against the Phillies. The Long Island native has an stellar 0.75 ERA, which is also his WHIP. Stroman has tossed 12 innings this season, striking out six, allowing just one run on seven hits and walking two. He has shown great movement on his pitches, varying his pitch speeds to keep hitters off stride.
Senzatela, the Venezuela native, has started three games this season. He has a 7.07 ERA with a 1.64 WHIP, letting up 18 hits and 12 runs over 14 innings. During his career four-year career, Senzatela is 33-27 with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He’s struck out 295 and walked 157, allowing 472 hits in 437 innings pitched.
The game can be seen locally on SNY and heard locally on WCBS radio 880 am.
Series Notes For Mets
Third baseman J.D. Davis is set to come off the injured list on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how the playing time at the hot corner is divided among Davis, Luis Guillorme, and Jonathan Villar.
Mets OPS leaders are Brandon Nimmo (1.155), Dominic Smith (.812), and James McCann (.733).
Smith leads the Mets in home runs with two.
Nimmo has an OBP of .583.
McCann is slashing .280/.333/.400.
The Mets are hitting .252 as a team, with an OBP of .358 and a slugging percentage of .368.
Mets’ starters have a 2.31 ERA, and their bullpen ERA is 3.92. Their team ERA is 2.81, third in MLB.
Series Notes for Rockies
The Rockies’ starters have an ERA of 4.11, and their bullpen ERA is 5.84. Their team ERA is 4.81, 21st in MLB.
Rockies OPS leaders are second baseman Ryan McMahon (1.075), catcher Dom Nunez (.774), shortstop Trevor Story (.662).
The Rockies are hitting .225 as a team, with a .277 OBP and a .388 slugging percentage.
Josh Fuentes is the Rockies’ third baseman now that the team traded Nolan Arenado.
The Mets will once again be battling the weather in Colorado. With luck, they will get all three games in and not have to make a return trip. After this series they move on to play the Cubs in Chicago beginning next Tuesday night.
The post Series Preview: Mets Set To Battle Weather And The Rockies In Colorado first appeared on Metsmerized Online.