Game Chat: Mets vs Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

Friday, June 28, 2024 • 2:20 PM
Wrigley Field • Chicago, IL
LHP Jose Quintana (2-5, 4.98) vs. LHP Shōta Imanaga (7-1, 1.89)
SNY • MLBN

The Mets’ seven-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday night in Arlington. After a phenomenal run, the New York Mets are 13-5 in their last 18 games and now head to Chicago to take on the Cubs.

The Cubs have won their last two games and are 5-5 over their last ten. They have played two more games than the Mets at this point in the season and essentially have the same winning percentage (.480 compared to the Mets .479). Both teams are one game out of the last wild card spot, meaning that this weekend is a huge opportunity for the Mets to create some separation in a crowded Wild Card race.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Brandon Nimmo – LF
3. J.D. Martinez– DH
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Starling Marte – RF
6. Mark Vientos – 3B
7. Francisco Alvarez – C
8. Jose Iglesias – 2B
9. Harrison Bader – CF

Jose Quintana gets the opening start of the series for the Mets. Over 14 outings and 72 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has a 4.98 ERA, 5.16 FIP, 1.369 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start against the San Diego Padres where he allowed only one run on two hits and two walks over six innings while striking out six batters. The Cubs have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• Cody Bellinger 4-18, 2 2B, HR, BB, 8 K
• Ian Happ 2-5, K
• Nico Hoerner 3-8, K
• Christopher Morel 1-6, 2 K
• Seiya Suzuki 1-6, HR, K
• Dansby Swanson 3-8, 2 2B, 2 K
• Jameson Taillon 0-2, 2 K
• Patrick Wisdom 2-7, HR, 2 BB, 4 K

Opposing Lineup

1. Nico Hoerner – 2B
2. Seiya Suzuki – RF
3. Cody Bellinger – CF
4. Christopher Morel – DH
5. Ian Happ – LF
6. Patrick Wisdom – 1B
7. Dansby Swanson – SS
8. David Bote – 3B
9. Miguel Amaya – C

Shōta Imanaga has had a phenomenal start to his major league career. Over 13 starts and 76 innings on the year, he has a 1.89 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 0.987 WHIP and a 216 ERA+. The Cubs have a losing record as a team but are 11-2 when Imanaga starts.

At the end of May, Imanaga started to come back down to Earth a bit. He allowed seven runs over 4 1/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 29 before allowing five runs, only one earned, over 4 1/2 innings pitched against the Chicago White Sox on June 4. Since then, though, he has allowed only three runs over 13 2/3 innings while striking out 13.

In Imanaga’s lone career outing against the Mets, which came at Citi Field earlier this season, he threw seven scoreless innings while giving up just three hits and striking out seven.

Game Notes

The Mets have switched Luis Severino and David Peterson’s spots in the rotation, meaning Severino will now start against Chicago on Sunday night and miss the opportunity to face his former team while Peterson will instead take the mound against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that this decision was “matchup-based” and that the club feels their right-handed starters are better suited to face the Cubs while the left-handers are more equipped up to battle the Yankees.

Upon meeting with the media for the first time after joining the Cubs, Tomás Nido told reporters that he wasn’t caught off guard when the Mets designated for assignment and that he hopes the best for the team moving forward. Additionally, he praised the efforts and performance of Luis Torrens since joining the roster while stating that he loved his time playing in New York. Nido is not in the lineup for Friday’s game.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Tomás Nido. Nido signed a contract with the Cubs on Wednesday amidst the team’s struggles at catcher and will probably make his debut with the club at some point this weekend. There is something poetic about Nido, who spent parts of eight major league seasons with the Mets, potentially playing against them so soon after joining another organization. It’s also worth questioning how much knowledge he brings about the Mets to the Cubs and how much that matters in a day and age where analytics plays such a huge role throughout the entire game.
2. Battle of the bullpens. The Cubs, in general, have gotten good results from their starting pitching this season, but their bullpen has caused them some problems. The Cubs’ bullpen ranks No. 27 in the league with a -0.5 fWAR. The Mets come in at No. 9 in that category with a 1.9 fWAR, which is amazing considering how all of the bullpen problems fueled their rough stretch in May. New York’s focus should be on driving Imanaga’s pitch count up early and forcing the Cubs to turn to their bullpen earlier than anticipated. This will be a tough task, however, as Imanaga has a National League-leading 1.3 BB/9 among qualified pitchers.
3. Mets strikeouts. Part of the issue for the Mets in their loss on Wednesday night was strikeouts. The club punched out 12 times with Martinez, Marte, Vientos and Alvarez each going down on strikes out twice. It’s hard to get any rallies going if that trend sustains itself, and it certainly isn’t a recipe for success against a pitcher like Imanaga.

Let’s go Mets!

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