Game Chat: Mets vs Athletics, 10:05 PM

Friday, April 11, 2025 • 10:05 PM
Sutter Health Park • West Sacramento, CA
RHP Griffin Canning (0-1, 2.79) vs. LHP JP Sears (1-1, 3.46)
SNY

The New York Mets head out west for the first time in 2025! This road isn’t so bad for east coast fans though. The Mets play three games in Sacramento, but only tonight has a 10:10 p.m. EST start. After this series, they head to Minnesota. The 2025 schedule as a whole is fairly nice to the Mets, featuring zero three-city west coast road trips.

Sutter Health Park has seen 18 home runs hit over its first five games in 2025. It’s too early to tell if this is because of the ballpark itself or the A’s pitching staff, who allowed 11 of those homers. This could potentially be a wild weekend!

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – RF
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Starling Marte – DH
5. Brandon Nimmo – LF
6. Mark Vientos – 3B
7. Luisangel Acuña – 2B
8. Luis Torrens – C
9. Jose Siri – CF

Griffin Canning has pitched 9 2/3 innings over his first two starts of the year, allowing three runs, eight hits and five walks while striking out ten batters with a 2.79 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.345 WHIP and a 140 ERA+. The Mets bullpen has been fantastic so far this year, but they could also use a break. Canning has thrown 89 pitches or less in both starts. Getting through at least six innings could go a long way for a bullpen that was used a lot over the last week.

Canning faced the Athletics twice last season, allowing seven runs on 11 hits over 10 1/3 innings. They have the following career numbers against him:

• Miguel Andujar 1-5, 2B
• JJ Bleday 0-5, K
• Seth Brown 1-5, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Lawrence Butler 2-5, 3B, BB
• Shea Langeliers 1-7, HR, 2 K
• Brent Rooker 3-9, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Max Schuemann 2-2, HR
• Tyler Soderstrom 0-5, K
• Gio Urshela 1-3
• Jacob Wilson 1-1

Opposing Lineup

1. Lawrence Butler – RF
2. Brent Rooker – DH
3. Tyler Soderstrom – 1B
4. Shea Langeliers – C
5. JJ Bleday – CF
6. Jacob Wilson – SS
7. Miguel Andujar – LF
8. Gio Urshela – 3B
9. Max Muncy – 2B

The Athletics are hoping that 2025 is the year of the JP Sears breakout. He took a step forward in 2024, making 32 starts for a second consecutive season while lowering his ERA from 4.54 to 4.38 and his FIP from 5.15 to 4.71. His ERA+ over the last two years was a 93 and 91, respectively.

This season, Sears is off to a strong start as he’s allowed five runs over 13 innings on 11 hits and two walks while striking out nine batters with a 3.46 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.000 WHIP and a 113 ERA+.

The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-5, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-6, 2B, HR
• Starling Marte 0-3, K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-5, BB, K
• Juan Soto 2-6, K
• Luis Torrens 1-5, 2B, K
• Jesse Winker 0-2, K

Game Notes

• Jeff McNeil (1-2, BB), Francisco Alvarez (0-3, BB), Drew Gilbert (2-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Jared Young (0-3), all of whom are on rehab assignments, were the top four hitters in Low-A St. Lucie’s lineup tonight.
• Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that both Alvarez, who caught all nine innings tonight, and McNeil will play again for St. Lucie on Sunday. Alvarez will then be at Citi Field on Monday before playing for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, while McNeil will appear in another game for St. Lucie before also heading to Syracuse.
• Mendoza also stated that Paul Blackburn threw a live batting practice session at High-A Brooklyn today and is slated to complete another on Tuesday.
• Luis Severino, who is scheduled to start for the Athletics on Sunday, told reporters that he was willing to accept a two-year, $40 million deal from the Mets this past offseason. He then stated that his agent told him the club was only willing to offer him the same deal Frankie Montas received, which is worth $34 million over two years with a player option for the 2026 season. Severino proceeded to sign a three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Home runs. The Mets hit 207 home runs in 2024 – the sixth-most in the league! The Mets have hit only nine home runs this season, with four of them coming on March 31 against the Miami Marlins. The Mets were tied for No. 20 in the league coming into the day with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Marlins and Minnesota Twins. For context, the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the league with 28 and the Yankees are second with 26. The jury is still out on whether Sutter Health Park is a home run-hitting paradise. Hopefully the Mets can take advantage tonight regardless!
2. Juan Soto. Soto did not get a hit or a walk on Wednesday, snapping his 11-game streak of getting on base. While the Mets offense, outside of Alonso, has been mostly absent, Soto has been consistent this season. Even after going 0-for-4 on Wednesday, Soto still has a .404 OBP and a 146 OPS+. From April 4 to April 8, he went 7-for-18 with three doubles and scored five runs with a .476 OBP.
3. Tyler Soderstrom. Canning has kept Soderstrom hitless over his career (0-for-5). He is having a moment right now, though. Soderstrom has six home runs so far this season, tied with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the league lead. He’s hitting .354/.426/.771 with a 249 OPS+. Soderstrom had a 0.5 bWAR over 61 games in 2024, and already has a 1.1 bWAR over 13 games this year. It’s going to be a long night for the Mets if they can’t contain him.

Let’s go Mets!

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