The New York Mets will head up to Canada to face the Toronto Blue Jays for their final matchup of the season. The Mets come off a series where they lost two out of three to the Miami Marlins. Toronto sits at 39-45 and is in fourth place in the AL East. Both teams are at least 15 games out of first place. They split the first two games they played at Citi Field this season.
Probable Pitching Matchups:
(7/3, 7:07 PM) Zack Wheeler (2-4, 4.47 ERA) vs. Marco Estrada (4-7, 4.53 ERA)
(7/4, 7:07 PM) Corey Oswalt (0-1, 9.82 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman (1-5, 6.02 ERA)
Wheeler is in a Groove
Zack Wheeler will take the mound for the first game of the series and he has slowly turned his season around. In June, Wheeler decided to throw with a higher velocity on his fastball and the results improved. He went from a 6.43 ERA in May, to a 3.26 ERA in June. As bad as the last couple months have been for the Mets, they at least have three consistent starters they can rely on.
Corey Oswalt started in Jason Vargas place in the rotation against the Marlins and did a very good impression of him. He allowed six runs in 2.2 innings pitched in his first start with the Mets. He started his Mets career with 4.2 innings of two run ball out of the bullpen and the Mets will be looking for that type of pitcher in the final game of the series. Oswalt still has an opportunity to land a job in the Mets rotation and all he has to be is average to keep it.
New Blue Jays Making an Impact
The Blue Jays are not the feared AL East team they once were but their offense can still pack a punch. Yangervis Solarte has stepped up in the place of the injured Josh Donaldson this season. He leads the Blue Jays with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs in his first season in Toronto. Teoscar Hernandez also leads the team with a .520 slugging percentage. He was acquired from the Houston Astros for Francisco Liriano last year and the trade looks like a steal now.
Marcus Stroman has failed to pitch at the same level he did his first couple of years in the big leagues. His ERA is almost double what it was last year even though his strikeout rate has increased. In his last two starts since coming back from the DL, he has gone back to pitching they was he was known for. The Blue Jays would love to see Stroman put together another great start against the Mets.
Matchups to Lookout For
Todd Frazier vs. Marco Estrada: 7-22 (.318) Double, 2 Home Runs, Walk, Strikeout
Jose Reyes vs. Marco Estrada: 5-14 (.357) Double, Triple, 2 Strikeouts
Yangervis Solarte vs. Zack Wheeler: 1-3 (.333) Walk
Randal Grichuk vs. Zack Wheeler: 0-3 (.000) Strikeout
Interesting Stats
Asdrubal Cabrera in Late & Close Situations in 2018: 23-63 (.365) 5 Doubles, Triple, 5 Home Runs, 1 Walk, 13 Strikeouts
Justin Smoak w/RISP: 18-57 (.316) 8 Doubles, 3 Home Runs, 13 Walks, 17 Strikeouts