The Mets will be tested this week with a rematch of the 2022 NL Wild Card series on tap.
So far this season, the Mets have played seven of their 10 games against the lowly Miami Marlins, a team that has some good starting pitching but not much else. The only other team the Mets have faced in 2023 was the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Mets in a three-game series last week and might be better than some thought at 7-2 on the season.
So now the 6-4 Padres come to town. Another team with World Series aspirations and a deep-pocketed owner who is sparing no expense for his club, operating in much the same fashion as the Mets. Since they last saw the Mets, they have added Xander Bogaerts and Nelson Cruz. The Mets have added pitchers Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and a bevy of other relievers.
The two teams have had similar starts to the season, with injuries to pitchers and some inconsistent play. The Padres lost their first two games to the Colorado Rockies — the Marlins of the NL West — and could probably use another pitcher. The Mets couldn’t complete the sweep of Miami over the weekend and could probably use another bat.
However, the Padres are coming into New York having won three of four in Atlanta against the Braves. Former Mets’ right-hander Seth Lugo got the win in Sunday’’s 10-2 walloping of the Braves, going six strong and limiting them to just one earned run.
Bogaerts enters the series slashing .324/.422/.649 with 190 OPS+. The Padres own the sixth-best slugging percentage in baseball right now (.448).
For the Mets, Pete Alonso has been the engine that drives the offense, leading the league with five home runs and slashing .237/.326/.658 with a 153 OPS+ in 10 games.
The series will start with right-hander Max Scherzer facing right-hander Yu Darvish. The marquee matchup is must-watch baseball, but it gets a little less exciting in the second and third games of the series, with lefties Ryan Weathers and David Peterson starting Tuesday and Tylor Megill going for the Mets in the finale. San Diego hasn’t named a starter for the third game.
Megill and Peterson will have their own storylines for the Mets this week as the club that tried to assemble a deep rotation is suddenly pitching in the shallow end. Carlos Carrasco was shelled once again Sunday and while his next turn through the rotation won’t come until the Mets are in Oakland next weekend, Peterson and Megill have had control issues they’ll need to work through in order for the 5-5 Mets to get back into the win column.
But the biggest storyline might be the handling of catcher Francisco Alvarez. The club’s top prospect is with the Major League team as Omar Narvaez is sidelined with a left calf strain. The 21-year-old had some good at-bats over the weekend but Sunday he allowed five stolen bases in five attempts. Teams are only going to continue to capitalize on that weakness if he can’t get it under control.
The Mets will end the week in Oakland and though the A’s aren’t exactly a juggernaut, a 10-game, three-city California swing with no days off will pose a serious challenge, especially for the pitching staff. Verlander is hopeful he can make his Mets debut on that trip but the club still hasn’t decided on a plan of action for his return.
Two weeks from now, we’ll know a lot more about the Mets and their ability to overcome adversity.
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