Game Chat: Mets vs White Sox, 8:10 p.m.

Friday, August 30, 2024 • 8:10 PM
Guaranteed Rate Field • Chicago, IL
RHP Tylor Megill (2-5, 5.17) vs. RHP Jonathan Cannon (2-8, 4.57)
WPIX

What a difference a day makes! Less than 24 hours after a crushing Mets defeat where they allowed a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they came roaring back with a ninth-inning win on Thursday afternoon. The Mets have officially finished their 10-game gauntlet against the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Diamondbacks with a 6-4 record.

The Braves finally dropped a game yesterday against the Philadelphia Phillies, so the Mets now go into the weekend only three games out of the last Wild Card spot. Onward!

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Brandon Nimmo – LF
3. Mark Vientos – 3B
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Jesse Winker – RF
6. J.D. Martinez – DH
7. Jeff McNeil – 2B
8. Francisco Alvarez – C
9. Harrison Bader – CF

Tylor Megill will make the start in place of Paul Blackburn tonight. Blackburn was hit by a line drive in his pitching hand during his last start against the Padres, and while it appears he avoided serious injury, the Mets placed him on the 15-day injured list. Now, Megill looks to get his season back on track against the White Sox.

Megill has pitched in 10 games for the Mets this season for a total of 47 innings with a 5.17 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.426 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. He was sent back down to the minors at the end of July and has pitched in four games since with a 4.22 ERA over 21 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse.

The White Sox have the following career numbers against Megill:

• Corey Julks 1-2
• Nicky Lopez 2-2
• Miguel Vargas 0-2, BB, K

Opposing Lineup

1. Nicky Lopez – 2B
2. Luis Robert Jr. – CF
3. Andrew Benintendi – LF
4. Andrew Vaughn – DH
5. Gavin Sheets – 1B
6. Korey Lee – C
7. Dominic Fletcher – RF
8. Miguel Vargas – 3B
9. Jacob Amaya – SS

The Mets bats draw rookie Jonathan Cannon tonight. Over 17 games (90 2/3 innings), Cannon has a 4.57 ERA, 4.67 FIP, 1.390 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. He’s in the midst of a tough stretch where he has allowed 13 runs over his last 14 2/3 innings while opponents have hit .339/.417/.565 against him over that span.

Before this stretch of bad outings, he had a stretch of good performances with a 1.89 ERA over three starts from the end of July through the start of August.

Game Notes

Jett Williams has joined Double-A Binghamton and is hitting in the leadoff spot on Friday night while also playing shortstop. He recently concluded a five-game rehab assignment with Low-A St. Lucie and is returning to the Rumble Ponies after undergoing wrist surgery that has kept him out since April 21. The belief is that Williams could participate in the Arizona Fall League following the conclusion of the regular season.

Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Dedniel Núñez may not require an MRI on his forearm despite hitting the injured list on Thursday for the second time over the past month. He made one appearance against the Padres upon being activated last week, though he did not recover as expected from the outing and was unavailable in the team’s loss on Wednesday night against Arizona.

Mendoza provided updates on both Kodai Senga and Christian Scott as well, stating Senga is playing catch from up to 90 feet away as he deals with a calf strain while Scott is now throwing off of a mound. There is no concrete timeline for either’s return to the majors as of now.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Trap game? Once it became clear that the White Sox may be historically bad, this became the fear about this series – will these all be trap games? The White Sox are nearing a historical milestone set for the worst record in modern MLB history, which was set by the 1962 Mets (40-120). That has to be top of mind for the White Sox players in a slightly different way when they are playing the literal New York Mets.
2. Pete Alonso. Alonso hit his 29th homer of the season on Wednesday. It was the 221st of his career, moving him past Mike Piazza on the all time home-run list for the Mets. It was also his second home run in three games. Is this the start of a classic Pete power stretch?
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor extended his hitting streak to nine games and on-base streak to 27 on Wednesday with a critical, game-tying home run in the sixth inning. Over his nine-game hitting streak, he has gone 14-for-39 with five doubles and four homers while slashing .359/.375/.795. We are running out of things to say about Lindor. He is quite literally powering the Mets in their chase for a Wild Card spot.

Let’s go Mets!

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