MMO Game Thread: Mets at Yankees, 5:20 PM – Game 2

Having three doubleheaders in one week for the Mets wouldn’t be a crazy large issue if the Mets had more pitchers who could start.

This stretch of double headers came at the same time that the Mets rotation is basically depleted – more than any time I can recall in recent memory. Between injuries, struggles on the field, and questionable roster decisions the Mets were forced to stretch out both Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo.

Mets Lineup

1. Jeff McNeil – LF
2. Michael Conforto – RF
3. Dominic Smith – 1B
4. J.D. Davis – 3B
5. Robinson Canó – 2B
6. Pete Alonso – DH
7. Amed Rosario – SS
8. Jake Marisnick – CF
9. Ali Sánchez – C

This afternoon it’s Seth Lugo’s turn to continue his journey into a starter.

On the season he has pitched in 10 games and made one start totaling 13.1 innings with a 2.03 ERA, 2.16 FIP, 0.750 WHIP, and 212 ERA+. Five days ago he made his first start where he tossed 39 pitches across three innings while striking out five, allowing nothing. Lugo pitched two scoreless, hitless innings against the Yankees last year. The Yankees have the following numbers against Lugo:

• Luke Voit 1-4, HR, K
• DJ LeMahieu 3-6
• Gary Sanchez 1-5, K
• Aaron Hicks 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
• Jordy Mercer 0-2, K
• Gio Urshela 0-1, K
• Brett Gardner 0-4, K

Yankees Lineup

1. DJ LeMahieu – DH
2. Luke Voit – 1B
3. Aaron Hicks – CF
4. Clint Frazier – RF
5. Gio Urshela – 3B
6. Mike Tauchman – LF
7. Erik Kratz – C
8. Tyler Wade – SS
9. Thairo Estrada – 2B

Deivi García will make his major league debut for the Yankees today.

At 20-years-old, he pitched across three levels in the minors last year starting in high A all the way to AAA. In A ball he posted a 3.06 ERA over 17.2 innings. Next he made 11 starts (53.2 innings) in AA ball with a 3.86 ERA. Finally he pitched in 11 games, six starts, in AAA ball for 40.0 innings with a 5.40 ERA. He was 6.2 years younger than the average player in the league at that point. It feels like the Mets have struggled against the deluge of players making their major league debuts against them this year, hopefully they’ll get the better of García today.

Game Notes

Lugo is making his seventh career appearance against the Yankees. He is 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA (five earned runs/12.0 innings) with five walks and 15 strikeouts lifetime against the Yankees.

Lugo has not allowed more than one run in any single appearance this season or in his last 25 appearances overall stretching over the last calendar year (since Aug. 17, 2019). In those 25 games, he’s 3-3 with seven saves and a 1.27 ERA (five earned runs/35.1 innings).

Let’s Go Mets!