The New York Mets look to make it two in a row against their division rival Marlins in the middle game of their three-game set. Of course, game one ended with the controversial hit by pitch to Michael Conforto, which gave the Mets a walk-off victory. The Mets will send their ace to the mound for Saturday afternoon’s game to leave no doubt in their potential victory.
Woke up this morning like… pic.twitter.com/K18QEULa0u
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 9, 2021
The health of J.D. Davis is still day to day as he works himself back from the hand injury he suffered in Philadelphia. With a long season still ahead we should expect Davis to get ample time to return to full health. The combination of Luis Guillorme and Jonathan Villar have served the Mets fine during the last couple of games.
On the pitching side, the other major question concerns the pitch limit for Jacob deGrom. Manager Luis Rojas pulled him after just 77 pitches and it was a major factor in their Opening Day loss. Rojas said he was good for 90-100 on Opening Day and we should see deGrom hit that mark against a very familiar Marlins lineup.
Pitching Matchups
With deGrom on the mound the Mets have to provide him support in all aspects of the game. They have wasted start after start, year after year and they need to win to emerge as a World Series contender. deGrom was brilliant in his Opening Day start against the Phillies where he threw six shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He was very fastball dominant and we will see if he carries that trend over to an aggressive Marlins lineup.
Trevor Rogers takes the ball for the Marlins after a rocky start against the St. Louis Cardinals. Rogers struckout six over four innings but four walks elevated his pitch count to 77. He features a 4-seam fastball in the mid-90s, slider and changeup. Rogers faced the Mets in his first two career starts and held them to two runs over nine innings.
Matchups To Lookout For
Jacob deGrom vs. Jesus Aguilar: 4-for-12 (.333), Double, Home Run, 2 Strikeouts
Jacob deGrom vs. Jon Berti: 6-for-19 (.316), 3 Doubles, 5 Strikeouts
Jacob deGrom vs. Brian Anderson: 8-for-35 (.229), 2 Doubles, Home Run, 3 Walks, 10 Strikeouts
Jacob deGrom vs. Corey Dickerson: 2-for-14 (.143), Walks, 4 Strikeouts