Lengthy West Coast road trips are never easy and the New York Mets (38-21) have had their fair share of struggles in California. The Mets dropped the final two games of their series with the San Diego Padres by a combined score of 20-2 and saw two key regulars, Pete Alonso and Starling Marte, miss most of those games with injuries. A much-needed off day should refresh the Mets as they continue their trip with a visit to Anaheim to take on the slumping Los Angeles Angels (28-31). First pitch for the opener of this three game series is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium and will be streamed nationally on Apple TV+ as part of their Friday Night Baseball package.
2021 was a tough year for the Angels, who went 77-85 to finish in fourth place in the American League West, 18 games back of the first-place Houston Astros. Injuries to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, along with a lack of depth on the pitching staff, short-circuited a team that got an MVP performance out of Shohei Ohtani. Los Angeles chose to raid the Mets for some pitching answers, bringing in Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Loup as their most notable additions, and saw their moves lead to a hot start. A 14-game losing streak has sunk the Angels in the standings and cost manager Joe Maddon his job, with the team being turned over to interim skipper Phil Nevin earlier this week. The Angels snapped their losing skid last night but time will tell if the change in manager will wake up a slumping team.
The Mets will activate right-hander Tylor Megill (4-2, 4.41 ERA) off the injured list to make the start tonight. Megill’s last big-league start came on May 11, when he gave up eight runs in 1.1 innings to lose to the Washington Nationals. The Angels will counter with lefty Jhonathan Diaz (1-0, 1.32 ERA), who will be called up from AAA Salt Lake City to serve as a spot starter. Diaz’s last appearance for Los Angeles came on June 2 when he allowed two runs in four innings of relief against the New York Yankees.
Local Coverage:
Television: None
Streaming: Apple TV+
Radio: WCBS
New York Mets Lineup:
Game 1 in Anaheim. #LGM
🆚: Los Angeles (AL)
💪: Tylor Megill
📍: Angel Stadium
🕕: 9:38 p.m.
📺: @AppleTVPlus
📻: @wcbs880
🔗: https://t.co/b5DFtDUcP1 pic.twitter.com/CbXOfgl4HK— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2022
Pre-Game Notes:
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This is the first meeting between the Mets and Angels since 2017, when the Mets won two out of three over Los Angeles at Citi Field in May.
This is the Mets’ first trip to Angel Stadium since 2014, when the Mets lost 2 out of three to the Angels in April.
Neither team has faced the opposing starter before.
Pete Alonso (hand) is back in the Mets’ starting lineup. He will bat cleanup and start at first base.
Starling Marte (quad) remains out of the Mets’ lineup but is hoping to return to action tomorrow night. Jeff McNeil will start in right field and bat sixth.
The Mets have not announced a corresponding roster move to activate Megill off the injured list as of post time.
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