Game Preview
n Thursday night, the New York Mets will play the first game of a four-game road series against the St. Louis Cardinals. In June, the Mets were swept by the Cardinals. New York actually outscored St. Louis 16-14 in that matchup. The Mets batted .242 throughout the course of the three games, but will be without their two greatest hitters from the series.
Starling Marte is on the IL, and Tommy Pham was transferred. Brett Baty, among the active roster, was New York’s top hitter. Both he and Brandon Nimmo had three hits. Even Nimmo hit one out of the park. The Mets’ three games against the Cardinals saw them blast five home homers.
The Mets are 10th in the league in home runs, and their offense does not strike out much. That should give them an advantage in the match. Wainwright is not a good strikeout pitcher, as evidenced by the 14 home runs he has given up so far this year. That’s not a lot, but Wainwright also lets the other team hit .375 against him, so it’s not all good news.
Brendan Donovan was the Cardinals’ most effective batter in the three games. He contributed six hits, three runs scored, and a double. But he’s in the IL, so that’s out. During the last series against the Mets, Jordan Walker went 3-for-5 with two home runs. Double-homer game by Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals clubbed seven home runs throughout the three games, but batted just .208 as a team.
Despite Wainwright’s poor season, the Mets have seen him pitch the longest of any team this year. In 6 and a third innings of work, he gave up seven hits, three runs, and three strikeouts. That was perhaps his best performance of the year. He’s been having serious problems, but that game is a step in the right direction. The Cardinals will win and cover the spread if he can duplicate his performance from that game.
St. Louis benefits from the fact that the Mets have lost all five games that Quintana has started. The Mets have scored just nine runs in games that Quintana has started, and I can’t figure out why. The Mets’ hitting struggles against Quintana’s pitches could continue here.
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Mets vs Cardinals Game Information
- Date: 08/17/2023
- Time: 05:15 PM ET
- Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri.
- How to Watch: Mets vs Cardinals MLB.TV
- Live Stream: MLB.TV
