danny abriano
·4 min read
Here are five things to watch when the Mets and Cubs play a three-game series at Wrigley Field in Chicago starting on Friday afternoon...
Let's get Wild
The Mets and Cubs are right in the thick of a National League Wild Card race that has nine teams fighting for three spots.
But if you think the Atlanta Braves are going to nab the top Wild Card spot -- which is a fair assumption -- that would leave the Mets, Cubs, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants to battle it out for the other two.
As far as the Mets and Cubs, the teams split a four-game series at Citi Field a few months ago, meaning this series is the last time they'll face each other this season.
The Mets enter play on Friday 1.0 game back of the Padres and D-backs for the third Wild Card. But New York is tied with Arizona in the loss column and has two fewer losses than San Diego.
A series streak
The Mets haven't lost a series since the end of May, when they were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game set at Citi Field.
Since then, this is what the Mets have done:
Split a four-game series against the D-Backs
Swept a three-game series against the Nats
Split a two-game series with the Phillies
Took two of three from the Marlins
Swept a three-game series from the Padres
Took two of three from the Rangers
If the Mets want to continue their streak of not losing a series, they're going to have to slow down an inconsistent but talented Cubs team that is 21-16 at home this season.
Can the offense continue to roll?
The Mets scored 24 runs during their three-game series against the Rangers, as their offense kept humming along.
They have been one of the best and most powerful offensive teams in the majors over the last month-plus, and their recent hot streak has coincided with strong showings from most of their regulars and the return of Francisco Alvarez.
Overall, just five teams in the NL have scored more runs than the Mets' 337.
Their hottest hitters over the last few weeks have been Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and J.D. Martinez, but Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, and Alvarez are all starting to heat up.
Alonso has nine hits in his last 24 at-bats (including two homers, two doubles, and 10 RBI), Vientos went six-for-14 in Texas, and Alvarez has seven hits in his last 13 at-bats.
Jose Quintana looks to stay on track
Quintana bounced back during his last start, tossing 6.0 innings of one-run ball while allowing two hits, walking two, and striking out six against the Padres at Citi Field this past Saturday.
It was a huge improvement for Quintana after he had two of his worst starts of the season back-to-back -- lasting just 3.2 innings against the Phillies after managing to pitch just 4.0 against the D-backs.
Things could get interesting in the rotation in the next month or so, or even sooner depending on how some of the current members of the rotation perform.
Christian Scott, whose innings are currently being managed in Triple-A, is expected to be back up during the summer.
And Kodai Senga, whose rehab is back on track after a few hiccups, could possibly return at some point in July.
The sensational Shota
Shota Imanaga will face Quintana during the series-opener on Friday, when he'll look to stymie the Mets for the second time this season.
During his start against the Mets on May 1 at Citi Field, Imanaga -- with his dastardly splitter keeping New York off-balance -- fired 7.0 shutout innings while allowing just three hits, walking one, and striking out seven.
After that start, Imanaga's ERA was 0.78. And he carried a 0.84 ERA into his start against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 29 before getting knocked around for seven runs in 4.1 innings.
Imanaga got hit hard in his start after that, too, when he allowed five runs (just one earned) on seven hits to the lowly Chicago White Sox, but has rounded back into form.
Over his last two starts, spanning 13.2 innings, Imanaga has given up just three runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out 13.
