Just Mets

The Mets will look for a series sweep of the Orioles tonight at 7:10 PM at Citi Field.

Here is tonight’s starting lineup for New York:

Curtis Granderson – RF
Juan Lagares – CF
Lucas Duda – 1B
Michael Cuddyer – LF
Daniel Murphy – 3B
Wilmer Flores –SS
Kevin Plawecki – C
Dilson Herrera – 2B
Jacob deGrom – RHP

Here’s what I am looking for from the Mets tonight…

Momentum.

A win tonight would give the Mets a sweep of this short series, but most important some much needed momentum as they head out for a seven-game road trip to Philadelphia and Chicago. The Mets have struggled so far on the road this season, as they’ve lost three of their four series away from Citi Field. Heading out on a positive note would give them a good feeling and a swing.

A bounce back from Jacob deGrom.

DeGrom has come across a rare struggle in the early part of his career over his last two starts. He got bombed at Yankee Stadium 12 days ago, and he got derailed and frustrated in his last start against Washington. He admitted to being frustrated after a costly error from Wilmer Flores in his last start, but he’s better than that. He’s facing a good offensive team but he’s pitching at home where he’s had tremendous success in his young career. Hopefully tonight he begins a more positive stretch of outings than he’s had recently.

More consistent offense.

The Mets ended their scoreless streak at 21 innings in the fourth inning yesterday, but didn’t score again over the remaining four innings even though they registered a win. I’d like to see the Mets tack onto whatever run total they start out with today and re-establish their early season approach throughout tonight’s game. Again, with a week away from Citi Field approaching, firing on all cylinders wouldn’t be the worst thing to have happen for a team which has struggled over the last couple of weeks.