Series Preview: Mets Look to Keep Momentum Alive in Colorado

Have the Mets begun their climb from the basement? It may soon be time to find out!

After winning a series against the Los Angeles Angels, New York travels to Colorado to face the Rockies. It is a prime opportunity to start stacking wins and right the ship; however, it is a series that could kill all of the team’s momentum once again.

How does New York stack up for the first early week series of May? And can they continue to build positive momentum?

It is time to find out if the Force is with the Mets (Happy Star Wars Day!) Without further ado, let’s dive into another series preview!

Monday: Huascar Brazobán (2-0, 1.15 ERA) vs. Tomoyuki Sugano (3-1, 2.84 ERA) 

• Huascar Brazobán will act as the opener for Monday’s game. In his postgame press conference on Sunday, manager Carlos Mendoza said that the Mets would use an opener in this matchup, followed by David Peterson. 
• Is the production of Tomoyuki Sugano real? That is a fantastic question, as the Rockies’ pitcher is a perfect example of the difference between basic and underlying numbers. On the surface, Sugano has been lights out, holding a 3-1 record with a 2.84 ERA. However, he is allowing a hard hit rate of 44.6%, has an expected ERA of 5.54, and has a strikeout rate under 20%. Sugano’s saving grace has been his ground-ball rate and a very low walk rate of 6.9%, which has offset some of the other worrying advanced stats he has accumulated. Pitching at Coors Field on Monday, Sugano will likely be helped by the cold conditions and snow(?!?!) in the forecast. However, this is still a game where the Mets’ lineup needs to do some damage.

Wednesday: Freddy Peralta (1-3, 3.52 ERA)  vs. Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 6.09 ERA)

• Freddy Peralta has been very solid through seven starts, but there is room for improvement for one of New York’s biggest offseason additions. The good from Peralta’s last start against the Nationals was that he only allowed one earned run and struck out six batters. The bad, however, was that he issued three walks and allowed three total runs. Instead of flaming out late in the game, Peralta struggled early on and gave Washington a chance to jump ahead early. The right-hander has had way more positives than negatives in 2026, with his whiff rate (30.1%), strikeout rate (25.6%), and barrel rate (4.8%) standing out as positives. And while I do not expect him to be perfect, Peralta has walked three batters in four of his starts and has not gotten past the sixth inning once. If he can be a bit more consistent with his command while still striking out batters at a high rate, I think Peralta can hit another gear this season.
• Michael Lorenzen went seven innings of work and only allowed one run in his start against the Mets on April 24. In his other starts this season, the Rockies’ pitcher has allowed three runs or more on four different occasions. He also, outside of his start against the Mets, has not gone past the sixth inning. There is literally no reason the Mets’ lineup should not score two runs, at a minimum, off Lorenzen in this game.

Thursday: Christian Scott (0-0, 4.26 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (1-2, 4.07 ERA) 

• Christian Scott may have begun to find himself again. Facing the Angels in his second start, the right-handed pitcher struck out eight batters and did not issue a walk, but he did hit a batter. Outside of the first inning, where he allowed three hits and two runs, Scott did not allow a hit. His fastball generated four of his strikeouts, his sweeper notched three, and his splitter had one strikeout. The outing was a nice reminder of why Scott had so much hype when he first arrived in Queens for the first time. He has the arsenal to dominate outings and the ceiling to round into a consistently good player for the Mets. How Scott builds upon this outing will be fascinating to watch, and given the team’s start to 2026, the Mets should allow Scott to get as many starts as possible.
• Like Lorenzen, Jose Quintana had one of the best starts of his 2026 season against the Mets. Unlike his teammate, though, the left-handed pitcher has seemingly started to find a bit of a groove. Facing the Braves on May 1, Quintana went six innings, allowed only one run, and struck out three batters. He has done a very good job limiting hard hits (33.3%) and has generated a 31.3% chase rate. New York will have a chance to do some damage, as Quintana is not keeping the ball on the ground and does not strike batters out at a high clip (11.4%). However, Quintana is a left-hander, and the Mets have not hit a lefty since before I was born (a possible exaggeration, but maybe not). This will be a very interesting battle to watch unfold.

The Main Storyline

After winning a series against the Angels, my main storyline to watch is whether the Mets can build upon their success.

I am keenly watching to see how the lineup moves forward after multiple games where the hitting was successful. Can Bo Bichette and Mark Vientos hit their stride? Can Carson Benge continue to be the spark plug that he has started to show flashes of at the major league level? If the Mets can find some solid ground as a lineup, it would drastically help their fortunes.

On the pitching side of things, New York needs to avoid the blown saves or blowup starts. Outside of the games where the lineup has not shown up, New York’s losses have been via a starter imploding on the mound or the bullpen not getting the job done. Things should not be expected to be perfect, but New York needs to ensure that the pitching at least gives the lineup a chance every night.

Up to this point in the season, New York’s 12-22 record shows they have not been able to do anything positive consistently. They can only start to climb out of the cavern they have dug by playing rock-solid, complementary baseball, and nothing short of that. For all of those reasons, the Mets’ ability to build upon their minimal success from the weekend is my main headline.

Player to Watch 

In this early week series, Mark Vientos is my player to watch. The infielder carried the Mets’ lineup on Sunday against the Angels, hitting two extremely pivotal home runs that helped secure the victory. If, and this is a MAJOR if, Vientos can sustain his production, New York will have gained some real teeth in their lineup out of the blue. It may be a fool’s errand to trust Vientos, but New York needs his production now more than ever.

Prediction

In their series against the Rockies, I have the Mets winning two of three, beginning their slow, arduous climb out of the cellar of the National League. In other words, I am ready to be hurt again.

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