Game Chat: Mets vs Braves, 12:20 PM

Thursday, April 11, 2024 • 12:20 PM
Truist Park • Atlanta, GA
LHP Jose Quintana (0-1, 2.61) vs. RHP Allan Winans (0-0, -.–)
SNY

If you turned the game off Tuesday night when the Mets were down 6-0, you missed their near comeback. The Mets scored five runs combined in the eighth and ninth and ended up losing by only one run, 6-5. The Mets got a second consecutive less-than-great start from a starting pitcher, leading to an early hole. The Mets bats, though, were able to scratch out five runs, including three runs on a Pete Alonso home run.

Again, the Mets’ bats found it difficult to hit with runners in scoring position. The Mets went 1-for-10 with RISP, and ultimately, that was the difference in the result.

Wednesday night’s game was postponed due to rain and is going to be made up in September. While that overloads the September schedule, it does give the Mets a massive reprieve right now. Between the day-off and a Tuesday game where Carlos Mendoza was able to avoid using the heavy hitters in the bullpen. Now the Mets go into today’s matinee fully rested.

Mets Lineup

1. Brandon Nimmo – LF
2. Starling Marte – RF
3. Francisco Lindor – SS
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Brett Baty – 3B
6. Francisco Alvarez – C
7. Jeff McNeil – 2B
8. DJ Stewart – DH
9. Harrison Bader – CF

Jose Quintana makes his third start of the season this afternoon. Over his first two starts, he’s tossed 10 1/3 innings, allowing three runs from 11 hits while striking out six batters. As we go through the first month of the season, stats start to correct themselves, and Quintana has a serious early-in-the-season mismatch with a 2.61 ERA coupled with a 5.94 FIP and 1.645 WHIP. Quintana made two starts against the Braves last season with two very different results. He held the Braves to one run from four hits over six innings in the first match. In the second start, the Braves got him for five runs from nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. The Braves have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• Ronald Acuña Jr. 2-13, 2 BB, 3 K
• Ozzie Albies 6-10, 2 2B, 2 HR, BB, K
• Orlando Arcia 4-32, 2B, 6 BB, 6 K
• Travis d’Arnaud 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Adam Duvall 3-8, 2 HR, 5 BB, K
• Luis Guillorme 0-2
• Michael Harris II 3-9, 2B, 2 K
• Jarred Kelenic 1-2, K
• Matt Olson 4-18, 2B, 2 BB, 7 K
• Marcell Ozuna 10-22, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Austin Riley 2-9, 3 BB, K

Opposing Lineup

1. Ronald Acuña Jr. – RF
2. Ozzie Albies – 2B
3. Austin Riley – 3B
4. Matt Olson – 1B
5. Marcell Ozuna – DH
6. Adam Duvall – LF
7. Michael Harris II – CF
8. Orlando Arcia – SS
9. Chadwick Tromp – C

This was supposed to be Spencer Strider‘s game for the Braves today, but Strider felt the dreaded elbow soreness after his last start, landing on the injured list. The Braves brought up Allan Winans to be a fresh arm for the bullpen, and since he wasn’t needed in relief, he is now starting for Atlanta tonight. Winans was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round of the 2018 draft.

Last season, Winans made six starts totaling 32 1/3 innings with a 5.29 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.392 WHIP, and an 85 ERA+. This includes back-to-back starts against the Mets in August with two very different results. In Queens, Winans shut the Mets out over seven innings, holding them to just four hits while striking out nine batters. A week later, the Mets scored seven runs against him off nine hits over 4 1/3 innings. Winans has made one start in the minors this season, allowing two runs from six hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Winans:

• Pete Alonso 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-3
• Jeff McNeil 3-6
• Omar Narváez 3-5, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, BB, K
• DJ Stewart 2-5, HR, K

Game Notes

The Mets have selected the contract of lefty Tyler Jay from Triple-A Syracuse. The 30-year-old was a first-round pick of the Twins in 2015 but has never pitched in the majors. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets moved Kodai Senga to the 60-day injured list. Senga cannot return to the Mets before May 27.

To make room on the active roster for Jay, the Mets optioned righty Dedniel Núñez to Triple-A Syracuse.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Stolen Bases. We started to see this in the series against the Reds, but the Mets are having an early season issue with stolen bases. Acuña stole three bases against the Mets Tuesday night. Narváez hasn’t looked the best behind the plate when it comes to runners taking chances. Part of this could be because the Mets are facing two of the more electric stars for stealing bases in back-to-back series (Elly De La Cruz followed by Ronald Acuña Jr. just isn’t fair). When future opponents see the amount of stolen bases the Mets have allowed on scouting reports, they are going to feel a little more confident to take the risk.
2. Hitting with runners in scoring position. We discussed this a bit in the introduction but this was the ultimate difference in Tuesday’s game. The Mets went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The Braves went 7-for-14. Splitting / Winning this series will come down to the Mets breaking out of their slump and stopping the onslaught from the Braves.
3. Pete Alonso: On Tuesday, we discussed Alonso’s slump. Last night, he had a terrific game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, three-run homer, and a walk. Here’s hoping he keeps this going tonight and powers the Mets’ offense to a win.

Let’s go Mets!

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