The Mets will look for a series victory against the Rockies on Wednesday night at Citi Field at 7:10 PM.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for New York:
Juan Lagares CF
Curtis Granderson RF
Yoenis Cespedes LF
Juan Uribe 3B
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Wilmer Flores 2B
Travis d’Arnaud C
Ruben Tejada SS
Jacob deGrom RHP
Here is tonight’s pitching matchup:
Jacob deGrom (10-6, 2.13 ERA) will start for the Mets.
Jorge De La Rosa (7-4, 4.85 ERA) will start for the Rockies.
Here’s what I’m looking for from the Mets tonight:
A new winning streak.
The Mets soft-landed off their seven-game winning streak on Saturday when their offense flatlined against the Rays in St. Petersburg, and they’ve really struggled to be consistent with the bats since then. But, wins are wins, and the Mets have found a way to do just that the last two nights, albeit a little late and with some walks and hit-by-pitches to get the job done.
A win today would give the Mets three in a row, a 10-2 record since announcing the trade for Yoenis Cespedes on July 31, and their best home start in the history of the franchise. It would also apply pressure against the Nationals, who face Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles later tonight.
Smoother sailing for Jacob deGrom.
Believe it or not, deGrom has been struggling a little bit as of late, at least by the standards he has set in his first year and a half in the league. Of course, deGrom at 70-80 percent is better than most other pitchers in this league. Poise and guile don’t slump, and they have allowed him to persevere during this tiny slump he’s been in with his crispness on the mound.
If he does find that groove again tonight, he’s going to put on a fun show in front of the home crowd. But even if he doesn’t, he’s so good and so focused that can still fight through it and pitch well enough to win.
Consistency with the bats.
Sure, the Mets have won the last two nights, and that’s all that matters. But again, they really haven’t hit too much over their last four games, hitting .221/.306/.336 during that span in which they’re 2-2. They seem to be in a collective slump, although they hit a lot of balls hard but right at people on Tuesday. And, they’ve been finding different kinds of ways to plate just enough runs to win, which is the most important thing anyway.
It would be nice if they could bust loose from this funk they’re in ahead of what’s going to be a challenging series against the Pirates this weekend. They’re facing a second division team right now, and it seems like they’re one big inning away from getting the rhythm they had during their seven-game winning streak back.
Just Mets 