Series Preview: Mets Look To Continue Strong Play Against Cubs

The New York Mets (35-38) suffered their first lost during the Grimace era on Wednesday, dropping the final game of their series with the Texas Rangers. Since May 30, the team is 13-5, putting themselves right into the thick of things in the National League Wild Card race. The Mets’ offense has been fantastic as of late, scoring 6.06 runs per game over their last 16 contests. They have won each of their last three series, including a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres last weekend.

Their six-game road trip will end in the Windy City against the Chicago Cubs (36-39), who are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The expectation coming into the season was that new manager Craig Counsell would help this team return to the playoffs after an 83-win campaign in 2023. As things stand right now, however, they are eight games behind his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Let’s take a look at some notes ahead of the three pitching matchups.

Friday, June 21, 2024: LHP Jose Quintana (2-5, 4.98 ERA) vs. LHP Shōta Imanaga (7-1, 1.89 ERA)

Jose Quintana has endured a difficult season with the Mets, but his last start did showcase some promising signs. The left-hander gave the team six strong innings on Saturday, allowing just one run on two hits in a 5-1 win over the Padres. Quintana struck out a season-high six over 88 pitches, earning his first win since April 11 against the Atlanta Braves. Contributing with a quality start is certainly a step in the right direction, but the Mets hope to see it more consistently. He will face off against his former team in this series, who he is 0-4 against with a 3.17 ERA in eight career starts. Quintana pitched for the Cubs from July of 2017 until September of 2020.

It would have been difficult for Shōta Imanaga to draw up a better beginning to his big league career. His 1.89 ERA ranks third in the National League among starters, only behind Reynaldo López of the Braves and Ranger Suárez of the Philadelphia Phillies. Keep in mind that Imanaga is a rookie pitching at this type of level. Pretty incredible stuff. The 30-year-old gave up a season-high seven runs in a start against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 29 but has allowed two earned runs or less in every other outing this season. Imanaga primarily uses a four-seam fastball and split-finger but also has a sweeper, curveball, sinker and a changeup. He threw seven scoreless innings with seven punch-outs against the Mets on May 1.

Saturday, June 22, 2024: RHP Tylor Megill (2-3, 3.52 ERA) vs. RHP Jameson Taillon (3-3, 3.08 ERA)

Tylor Megill has earned wins in two of his last three starts, largely as a result of the run support he has received. Megill was better all-around his last time out, however, allowing two runs on five hits in six innings against the Padres on Sunday. While length has typically been an issue for him, the long ball has not. Megill has surrendered just one homer this season, which has him at 0.3 home runs allowed per nine in 30 2/3 innings pitched. He is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in one career start against the Cubs.

Jameson Taillon has been good but not great in his first 11 starts. He was superb in the early going, pitching to a 1.13 ERA over his first four starts. The right-hander has stumbled a bit in recent weeks, though, owning a 4.32 ERA across his last six outings. So far this season, Taillon’s strikeouts and home run numbers are down from his career norms. Opponents are hitting .308 and .310 off Taillon’s cutter and four-seam fastball, respectively, which are his two most-used pitches. Taillon has never lost in his career against the Mets, going 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA in five starts.

Sunday, June 23, 2024: LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Javier Assad (4-2, 2.75 ERA)

David Peterson threw a season-high 100 pitches on Monday in a 14-2 win over the Rangers. It was his best outing of the season to this point, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six in six innings. Peterson gave up a two-run home run to Robbie Grossman in the bottom of third, but that was all the damage Texas could do. He is now averaging 4.8 strikeouts per nine, down from his 9.5 strikeouts per nine for his career, though that number should increase as the season goes on. Peterson is 1-2 against the Cubs in his career, owning a 4.91 ERA against them in five starts.

Javier Assad has gone under the radar as a key figure in the Cubs rotation. Last season, he made 32 appearances, 10 of which came as a starter. Assad impressed the coaching staff enough to earn a place in the rotation coming out of spring training, an opportunity he has ran with. The right-hander earned the win in four of his first nine starts, pitching to a 1.49 ERA along the way. Since then, Assad is 0-2 with a 4.75 ERA over six starts. The long ball has really hurt him during that stretch, allowing at least one home run in four of his last six outings. Assad is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three career appearances against the Mets, two of which were starts.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Pete Alonso (NYM)

The Mets’ biggest contributors during this recent run have been Francisco Lindor and J.D. Martinez. But, as of late, Pete Alonso’s bat has come around in a big way. The first baseman is 9-for-25 with two home runs and 10 runs batted in over his last five games. Alonso has great numbers at Wrigley Field in his career, slashing .286/.410/.816/1.226 with eight home runs and 18 runs batted in across 14 games.

Ian Happ (CHI)

Ian Happ is one of the most underrated hitters in today’s game, and right now, his bat is doing considerable damage. Over the last 11 games, the outfielder is 11-for-37 with three home runs and 11 runs batted in. Happ does not have good numbers against the Mets in his career, however, as he has slashed .158/.261/.283/.544 with a staggering 51 strikeouts in 138 plate appearances against them. A big opportunity to change his fortunes lies ahead this weekend.

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