Hey all – Steve here. After another 2 days of postponements, the Mets look to get back on the field today for 2! The series with the Phillies was supposed to be a 4 game-set but ended up being a 3 game sweep by the Mets after the finale was rained out. Doesn’t look that there will be any precipitation for the teams to worry about, but it will be in the low 40’s to start and the upper 30’s by tonight. Sunday? A balmy 55 degrees. All of that being said, the Mets can continue this 3 game winning streak in a big way as this Rockies team is now 3-10. It’s time to build on the momentum from the sweep of the Phillies. Let’s get to it!
Mets (5-3) at Rockies (3-10)
Game 1 (Doubleheader)
Jacob deGrom (0-1, 0.64 ERA) vs Chi Chi Gonzalez (1-0, 3.60 ERA)
The snow-out saved deGrom from having to pitch in 20-degree weather. I missed Friday baseball (again), but it was the best-case scenario. Nobody wants deGrom to freeze his butt off in a season the Mets are clearly going to win it all. Kevin Pillar is the only guy that has any at-bats against Gonzalez and he is 0-5. There are two guys on the Rockies with more than 10 AB against deGrom:
Charlie Blackmon – 13 AB .154 0 HR 0 RBI
Trevor Story – 13 AB .154 0 HR 0 RBI
Interesting, isn’t it? deGrom is on the mound against a relatively feeble lineup. The bats are beginning to wake up a bit. That combination? Gotta be a good outcome for the good guys, right?
Game 2 (Doubleheader)
Joey Lucchesi (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs German Marquez (0-1, 4.02 ERA)
Lucchesi makes his rotation debut for the Mets in game 2 of the doubleheader tonight. Typically, a team can get away without using their 5th starter until around April 8th or so. These Mets with all of the postponements have been able to wait until April 17th. I’ve really never seen anything like it. This might be the toughest match-up that the Mets will see in this series. The Rockies rotation is actually their strong suit which is also something that you rarely hear of when it comes to the Rockies. There will likely be a Villar sighting in this game as he owns a .571 average in 7 ABs against Marquez. Here is what some of the Rockies have done against Lucchesi:
Charlie Blackmon – 19 AB .263 0 HR 2 RBI
Garrett Hampson – 13 AB .308 1 HR 1 RBI
Trevor Story – 22 AB .318 2 HR 4 RBI
Game 3
Marcus Stroman (2-0, 0.75 ERA) vs TBD
Stroman has been fantastic in the early going of 2021. He has never lacked confidence (which has caused a lot of Mets fans to turn their backs on him) and he has typically backed it up during his career. A sub-4 ERA in the AL East with the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles (their lineups have been decent) is pretty damn impressive. Depending on what happens today, Stroman could be looking to close out the Mets’ 2nd straight series sweep.
Predictions for the series
