After a split series in our nation’s capital, the New York Mets (20-9) return to Queens for a brief three-game home stand with the Arizona Diamondbacks (15-13). After the Mets won seven games straight, the four game series against the Washington Nationals was one of whiplash, with the Mets suffering two walk-off losses to the Nats and winning two others handily, though only one will look such in the box score.
In Friday’s series opener in DC, the Mets battled back from an early deficit to take the lead in the eighth inning, only to see Ryne Stanek and A.J. Minter cough up the lead in the ninth. It must be said, however, that the Mets got a truly bad call on a “triple play” that clearly bounced, but was not a reviewable play, which, like literally any play made earlier in a game, could’ve seriously changed the outcome had it gone the other way. While the ball, hit by Jesse Winker, would likely have led to one, maybe two outs, it felt like a tonal shift in the game that it took the Mets a few innings to recover from.
In Game 2, the returning Francisco Alvarez hit an opposite field two-run dinger in the second to put the Mets up 2-0 after two rain delays. Due to an excellent Clay Holmes start and some much better bullpen-ing that the day before, that was all the Mets needed in a game that never really felt threatened.
Sunday was a different story, with the Mets jumping out to a 5-0 lead after batting around in the first, and eventually leading 7-1 going into the seventh inning when Tylor Megill – who had been pitching a gem until that point – and José Buttó both faltered and led to five runs in the bottom half of the inning. This was not helped by Stanek having his second bad appearance of the series, allowing a double, two singles, a walk, and an unfortunate throwing error by Pete Alonso to allow the Nats to claw back in a game they had no right winning.
The Mets finally had the laugher they were hoping for on Sunday one day later, when they battered the Nats to a 19-5 win, while etching Brandon Nimmo’s name in the history books alongside Carlos Delgado as the owner of the most RBIs in any Mets game with nine.
Even with those two losses, the Mets are the first team in MLB to reach twenty wins this season (and the only team still with single digit losses) and are four and a half up on the Phillies in the division race. The vibes are still good, and with Alvarez and Jeff McNeil back on the field, the offense looks like it may be inching towards some more consistency. Juan Soto is starting to hit a little more, collecting seven hits in his last five days, though only two of those have gone for extra bases.
The only real blemish from this series is the loss of Minter to a lat injury that saw him hit the injured list for an undetermined period of time. The Mets called up José Ureña to take his place and, despite getting the elusive three-inning save, gave up five earned runs, including two home-runs, in his Mets debut.
Because the Mets are in the midst of another 13 game stretch without an off-day, they need a spot starter for at least one game over the next week plus. The 68 pitches Ureña threw probably precludes him from making the spot start the Mets need on Wednesday, which means another roster shake-up is likely to happen after Tuesday night’s game.
The Diamondbacks play in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball, where their 15-13 record puts them in fourth place, ahead of just the lowly Rockies. The D-Backs have a positive run differential, and have been holding their own in a division with three teams off to incredibly hot starts.
However, after a hot streak that culminated in taking of seven of nine against the Orioles, Brewers, and Marlins, they’ve lost six of their last nine, dropping series to the Cubs, Rays, and Braves. Their pitching staff currently has a 4.38 ERA, 24th in baseball, and nearly two whole runs worse than the Mets’.
On the offensive side, Eugenio Suárez is currently leading the National League with ten home runs, while Corbin Carroll is leading the league in hits with 37, slugging percentage with .667, and total bases with 80. The Snakes are currently third in baseball in OPS, fourth in home runs, fourth in doubles, and third in triples.
With the Mets’ pitching staff being consistently good and the Diamondbacks hitting the cover off the ball, it should be an interesting series.
Tuesday, April 29: David Peterson vs. Eduardo Rodriguez, 7:10pm on SNY
Peterson (2024): 27.1 IP, 28 K, 9 BB, 2 HR, 3.29 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 84 ERA-
Peterson, like the rest of his Mets’ starting pitching brethren, is off to a nice start to the season. In all but one start, he’s given up two or one earned runs and, aside from his first start in Miami, hasn’t surrendered a home run. His strikeouts are up this season, and he’s only allowed one walk in his last three starts. It looks like the adjustments he made in 2024 are real.
Rodriguez (2024): 28.2 IP, 34 K, 7 BB, 3 HR, 4.40 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 106 ERA-
Arizona has lost three of Rodriguez’s last four starts, although he has pitched more or less fine in them. In his last outing, Rodriguez was likely left in too long, giving up two runs in the seventh inning, which allowed the Rays to claw back and, eventually, win the game.
Wednesday, April 30: TBA vs. Corbin Burnes, 7:10pm on SNY
Burnes (2024): 26.2 IP, 25 K, 12 BB, 4 HR, 4.05 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 98 ERA-
The Diamondbacks’ biggest move of the offseason was the signing of Burnes to a six-year deal, and so far, it has been a bit of a mixed bag. In five starts, Burnes has only had one start where he didn’t give up multiple earned runs, and only has two starts where he struck out more than three. No one is saying that this is all that Burnes is going to be for the Snakes, but thus far, he hasn’t had a very ace-like start to his first season in the desert.
Thursday, May 1: Kodai Senga vs. Zac Gallen, 1:10pm on SNY
Senga (2024): 28.2 IP, 25 K, 9 BB, 1 HR, 1.26 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 32 ERA-
I don’t think anyone felt confident in what Senga was going to be in 2025. After a fantastic 2023 campaign and a 2024 that was all but erased due to injury, there seemed to be equal number of folks expecting Senga to go in either the ace or washed direction. Senga has been consistent thus far this season, albeit pitching a little differently than we saw in 2023. His strikeouts are way down thus far, as are his walks, but he’s getting lots of ground balls and has given up just four earned runs in 28 and two-thirds innings.
Gallen (2024): 32.1 IP, 35 K, 15 BB, 5 HR, 5.57 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 135 ERA-
In 2022 and 2023, Zac Gallen looked like one of the best starters in baseball, getting Cy Young votes in both seasons, racking up career high strikeout numbers, and making his first All-Star team. 2024 wasn’t a bad year for Gallen, but it saw him come back down to Earth a little bit, in part because of a higher walk rate. Thus far in 2025, Gallen has not looked like himself, aside from a fantastic start against the Yankees in which he struck out 13 and gave up just three hits in six and two-thirds innings. His worst start of the year came against the Cubs on April 19th, where he gave up six earned runs and two home runs.
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