Game Chat: Mets vs Dodgers, 4:05 PM

Saturday, April 20, 2024 • 4:05 PM
Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, CA
RHP Jose Buttó (0-0, 0.75) vs. RHP Gavin Stone (1-1, 6.14)
WPIX • FS1

The Mets can win their fifth consecutive series this afternoon. Friday night the Mets extended their winning streak to five games with a 9-4 win over the Dodgers in a game that felt like three games. The Mets went up 4-0 early. Then after a few defensive mistakes, the Dodgers tied the game up. The vibes pendulum at this point had fully swung from good to terrible. The Mets then rallied and scored five runs over the final three innings to put the Dodgers away.

As of writing, there is a lot of concern around Francisco Alvarez, who was placed on the 15-day IL after stumbled rounding first base early in the game, injuring the same thumb that he injured multiple times earlier in the week. Carlos Mendoza said after the game he was “pretty concerned”, and after the game and before the announcement of Alvarez’s IL stint.

Until Alvarez comes back, Tomás Nido will return to the major league club. The righty was hitting .345 before being recalled to the Mets.

Mets Lineup

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

Jose Buttó makes his third start of the season today. In his first two starts of the year, he has allowed one run from five hits and four walks while striking out 15 batters in 12 innings. The Mets have had starting pitchers go six innings twice this year and Buttó has two of them. Obviously, 12 innings is a bit early to start putting a lot of weight into Baseball Savant numbers, but so far this season his fastball run value is in the 98th percentile. He isn’t getting a ton of ground balls though (18th percentile) and is in the 36th percentile for hard-hit%, which against the top of this Dodgers lineup is always a concern. This will be his first time facing the Dodgers and facing anyone on the Dodgers roster in a major league game.

Opposing Lineup

1. Mookie Betts – SS
2. Shohei Ohtani – DH
3. Freddie Freeman – 1B
4. Teoscar Hernández – LF
5. Max Muncy – 3B
6. James Outman – CF
7. Andy Pages – CF
8. Gavin Lux – 2B
9. Austin Barnes – C

The Mets bats look to keep the offense rolling against Gavin Stone this afternoon. Over three starts he has allowed 10 runs from 18 hits and five walks over 14 2/3 innings while striking out 15 (6.14 ERA, 2.18 FIP, 1.568 WHIP, 70 ERA+). Stone is coming off of his best start where he held the Padres to two runs on five hits over six innings. This will be Stone’s first start against the Mets and no one on the Mets major league roster has faced Stone in a major league game before.

Game Notes

• Prior to today’s game, the Mets made the following roster moves: Placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 15-Day IL with a left thumb sprain, selected catcher Tomás Nido from Triple-A Syracuse, and designated LHP Kolton Ingram for assignment.
• The Mets are on a season-high five-game winning streak. Their longest winning streak in 2023 was six games, which they accomplished from July 1-7.
• Today, Jose Buttó makes his third start of the season. The right-handed pitched tossed 6.0 scoreless innings in his last start on April 14 vs. Kansas City. He surrendered only two his, one walk, and struck out a career-high nine hitters. He owns a 0.75 ERA (1 ER/12.0 IP) this season with four walks and 15 punchouts.

Three Things To Watch For

1. If Harrison Bader keeps hitting, we’ll keep writing about him. Bader went 4-for-5 at the plate Friday night with a double, a run scored, and a stolen base. He has now reached base in eight consecutive games and has gone 14-for-31 over that stretch hitting an absurd .452/.485/.613. Before this streak, his season line was .192/.222/.192 and now sits at .333/.367/.421.
2. DJ Stewart is having a DJ Stewart season. Last night Stewart went 2-for-4 at the plate with his third homer of the season. Five of his seven hits are for extra bases. At first, I thought this was odd, but it seems like a small-sample-size version of what happened last year. Stewart last season had a .244 batting average with a .506 slugging percentage. This year he’s hitting .241 with a cartoonish .621 slugging. The big difference about Stewart this year is his walk rate which has jumped from 8.1% to 18% (12.3% career average). This has translated to .410 OBP (compared to .333 in 2023).
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor swung the vibe pendulum Friday night. After the Mets allowed the Dodgers to tie the game, Lindor hit a massive two-run home run, his first from the left side of the plate this season. In his last five games, he is 7-for-20 at the plate with a double, home run, and a .409 OBP. Lindor looks like he’s having fun on the field and he is lifting up the energy of those around him.

Let’s go Mets!

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