A disappointing end to their road trip essentially ended any dreams the New York Mets (59-69) had of making a miraculous climb back into the mediocre National League Wild Card race. The Mets dropped the final two games of their series with the Atlanta Braves to fall eight games back of the final wild card spot and into a tie for last place with the Washington Nationals. The good news for the Mets is that they are back home for a nine-game home stand against American League West teams that begins today with three against the Los Angeles Angels (61-67). First pitch for the opener is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. at Citi Field.
2022 was a trying year for the Angels, who went 73-89 to finish in third place in the division, trailing first place Houston by 33 games. The Angels have tried to go all in this season to make a playoff push with Shohei Ohtani, the best player in the game that is set to become a free agent at season’s end, with a busy offseason that saw them add Tyler Anderson, Hunter Renfroe, Carlos Estévez, Brandon Drury, Gio Urshela and Matt Moore to reinforce their roster. That push continued at the trade deadline as Los Angeles shipped off multiple prospects for the likes of Eduardo Escobar, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk and Dominic Leone to try pushing for a Wild Card spot with Ohtani.
While the decision was admirable, the moves have flopped as Los Angeles has fallen out of the playoff picture and Ohtani is done pitching for the season after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament, the precursor to Tommy John surgery. All eyes with the Angels will now shift to Ohtani’s pending free agency as he appears unlikely to stay with the only organization he’s ever known. The Mets figure to be one of the teams pursuing Ohtani in the offseason so it will be interesting to see how the fans treat him at Citi Field this weekend.
Right-hander Kodai Senga (10-6, 3.19 ERA) is set to take the mound for the Mets today. Senga earned his tenth win of the season last Saturday, allowing one run in seven innings to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Angels will counter with lefty Patrick Sandoval (6-10, 4.08 ERA). Sandoval was hit hard by the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start, giving up six runs (although just two were earned) in 4.2 innings last Saturday to suffer his tenth loss of the year.
Local Coverage:
Television: WPIX
Radio: WCBS
New York Mets Lineup:
Friday night in the Citi. #LGM
🆚 Los Angeles (AL)
💪 @kodaisenga
📺 WPIX
📻 @wcbs880 pic.twitter.com/bilbGBob64— New York Mets (@Mets) August 25, 2023
Pre-Game Notes:
The Mets won two out of three against the Angels when the teams last met at Angel Stadium in Anaheim in June of 2022.
The Angels haven’t been to Citi Field since 2017, when the Mets won two out of three against them in May.
Senga has never faced the Angels before.
Sandoval faced the Mets last season as an Angel, giving up two runs in six innings on June 12 to suffer a loss.
Daniel Vogelbach will sit against the lefty Sandoval. D.J. Stewart will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth.
Jeff McNeil is 3 for 3 against Sandoval.
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