Game Chat: Red Sox vs Mets, 7:10 PM

Monday, September 2, 2024 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Brayan Bello (12-6, 4.66) vs. RHP Luis Severino (9-6, 3.96)
SNY • MLBN

A few days ago, the Mets fell apart in Arizona in devastating fashion, allowing a grand slam in the 8th inning. The Mets fell to four games out of the last Wild Card spot, and things felt bleak. Since then, the Mets have won four straight games and gained three in the race. Entering play Monday, they are only one game out of the last Wild Card spot. With 25 games left this season, this month will be a wild ride.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Brandon Nimmo, CF
3. Pete Alonso, 1B
4. Jesse Winker, DH
5. Jose Iglesias, 3B
6. Jeff McNeil, 2B
7. Starling Marte, RF
8. DJ Stewart, LF
9. Luis Torrens, C

Luis Severino looks to help the Mets make it five wins in a row tonight when he takes the mound. Over 152 1/3 innings, he has a 3.96 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 1.260 WHIP and a 100 ERA+. He’s coming off a tough start against the Diamondbacks, allowing four runs over 4 2/3 innings. Before that, he allowed only one run over 14 innings, including a nine-inning shutout against the Marlins on August 17. The Red Sox have the following career numbers against Severino:

• Triston Casas 1-2, 2B, BB, K
• Rafael Devers 3-19, 2B, 2 BB, 7 K
• Jarren Duran 1-2, BB
• Romy Gonzalez 0-2, K
• Danny Jansen 1-3, 2B, BB, K
• Rob Refsnyder 1-2, K

Opposing Lineup

1. Jarren Duran, CF
2. Wilyer Abreu, RF
3. Tyler O’Neill, LF
4. Rafael Devers, 3B
5. Triston Casas, 1B
6. Masataka Yoshida, DH
7. Connor Wong, C
8. Emmanuel Valdez, 2B
9. Ceddanne Rafaela, SS

Brayan Bello has pitched 137 innings this season over 25 starts with a 4.66 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.372 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. He’s coming off a tremendous start where he held the Blue Jays to no runs and two hits over eight innings. He has a 2.49 ERA and 3.37 FIP over his four starts, which includes a start where he allowed five runs over 5 1/3. Only a few Mets have seen Bello in a major league game before:

• Harrison Bader 1-5, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-2, 3B
• Jesse Winker 1-5

Game Notes

• Kodai Senga is working on returning from a calf strain injury. His goal is to return around the time he’s eligible to come off the IL, and is open to being used however the Mets want to use him: a starter or reliever.
• Christian Scott (UCL sprain) has been pitching off the slope of the mound and hopes to pitch off the mound sometime soon. He remains confident he’ll pitch again this season.

Three Things To Watch For

1. fWAR Leaders. This series will feature the fourth and fifth-ranked players in the majors for fWAR. Jarren Duran is fourth in the league with a 6.9 fWAR, hitting .295/.353/.529 this season with a 141 OPS+. He currently leads the American League in PAs (624), ABs (567), doubles (44) and triples (13). Francisco Lindor is right behind him at 6.8 fWAR, leading the National League in games played (137), PAs (625) and ABs (561). Both teams rely on their fWAR leaders for dependability and pushing the team forward.
2. The Red Sox need this series too. Entering play today, the Red Sox are the bubble team in the American League, 4.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot. They just lost two games in a row to the Tigers, who are 0.5 games behind them. The Red Sox need a solid series to catch the sinking Royals in the American League Wild Card race, losing five games in a row. The Mets were swept the last time they faced a fringe team in the American League (Seattle Mariners).
3. The Mets struck out a lot on Sunday. Hopefully, coming home overnight and ending another wild August road trip helped the Mets recover. They struck out an astounding 16 times on Sunday and still outhit the White Sox 7-2. Lindor and Alonso each struck out three times, and Crochet started the game with seven straight strikeouts. In the end, the Mets proved it didn’t matter and powered through, thanks to Francisco Lindor.

Let’s go Mets!

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