Here are five things to watch as the Mets and San Francisco Giants play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Friday night…
1. Can the Mets start July on a high note?
This past month was a nightmare for the Mets, as that dreaded June swoon struck again in Queens.
The Mets did not record a single series win over the month. They were only able to pull out a split in the two-game Subway Series against the Yankees at Citi Field, and even then they were lucky to be able to steal a walk-off win.
They’ve been as inconsistent as it gets and haven’t really played a complete game. When they hit they can’t pitch, and when they pitch they can’t hit.
They’ve also made numerous uncharacteristic physical and mental errors leading to losses. Pretty much, what could go wrong, went wrong for the Mets in June.
Lucky for them, the month is just about over.
They’ll look to start off July on a high note with this weekend series against the Giants.
2. Old friends return
With the Giants in town, it brings some familiar faces back to Citi Field.
JD Daviswho was shipped out to San Fran in the Darin Ruf trade, has been enjoying a breakout season at the plate. He’s appeared in 74 games and is hitting .286 with a .828 OPS, 10 homers, 12 doubles, a triple, and 44 RBI.
Davis has been playing everyday and is putting together a strong season at the hot corner.
Michael Conforto, who signed with the Giants this offseason, has also been enjoying success in the Bay Area. After missing all of last season, the sweet swinging lefty has 12 homers and a .755 OPS through 71 games played.
Conforto has missed the past few games due to left hamstring tightness, but he’s hoping to be able to play or at least pinch hit during the weekend series.
And, of course, there’s Wilmer Flores, who has spent the past four seasons with the Giants. He just returned from the IL, but in his last 15 games prior to that, he was hitting .333 average with a .960 OPS.
3. Will Peterson build off a strong return?
David Peterson was tremendous for the Mets in his return to the big league level.
In Tuesday night’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers, the lefty tossed six shutout innings and allowed just five hits while walking three and striking out five.
After battling through a 27-pitch first innings, Peterson was mostly in control for the rest of the night. He had his groundball pitch working, generating ten of his 18 outs on the ground.
Peterson provided the Mets with the exact type of effort they were looking for from him in his return from Triple-A.
During his early season stint in the big league rotation, he struggled mightily. Heading into the night, he had an 8.08 ERA and 1.74 WHIP through eight starts. He didn’t fare much better in Triple-A posting a 1.62 WHIP across 37 innings of work.
Tuesday’s return was a step in the right direction for the young left-hander though. If he can continue pitching the way the Mets know he can, that would provide a huge boost to the backend of this struggling rotation.
Peterson will look to keep things rolling on Sunday night in the series finale.
4. Can Carrasco bounce back?
If Peterson pitches well again, that puts even more pressure on Carlos Carrasco to rebound.
He’s coming off of four consecutive rough starts. Carrasco’s failed to complete five innings in three straight outings and he’s posted a rough strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10/9 over that span.
He now has a 6.19 ERA on the season and has allowed at least one home run in nine of his 10 starts.
Carrasco isn’t giving the Mets the length they need from him at the back of their rotation. With their recent struggles, the Mets simply cannot allow him to continue going out there and struggle.
With Jose Quintana closing in on a return from a rib injury (he’s making his potential final rehab start this weekend), the veteran right-hander’s spot in the rotation has to be getting less and less secure with each rough outing.
Carrasco will look to turn things around in the series opener against the Giants on Friday night.
5. Wham, Bam, Pham
As mentioned above, not much went right for the Mets during the month of June. One of the lone bright spots on a very short list of them was the play of Tommy Pham.
After a bit of a slow start to the season, the veteran outfielder has turned into a catalyst for the Mets offense.
Pham reached base in all four plate appearances during Wednesday night’s loss to the Brewers. He launched a homer off the second deck in left, singled twice, drew a walk, and stole a base.
Across 23 games in June, he hit .329 with a .371 OBP, .969 OPS, seven doubles, five homers, 17 RBI, and four stolen bases.
Pham’s now up to eight homers on the season to go along with 11 doubles, a triple, nine stolen bases, and a team-leading .832 OPS. He’s been one of the Mets’ best hitters with runners in scoring position, posting a .350 average and 1.123 OPS in such situations.
Pham, who signed with the Mets on a one-year deal this offseason, could be a trade candidate if this team continues their free fall to the bottom of the standings. He’ll look to stay hot, and potentially build his trade value, to start off July.