Game Chat: Mets vs Cardinals, 8:15 PM

Friday, May 2, 2025 • 8:15 PM
Busch Stadium • St. Louis, MO
RHP Clay Holmes (3-1, 2.64) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (3-0, 3.60)
SNY

The Mets have lost their last two games by a combined three runs. Hitters are getting on base, but the offense just hasn’t been able to push them across the plate. With the frequency the club is getting runners on, they eventually have to score more, and hopefully that starts tonight as they start a series in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – RF
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Brandon Nimmo – LF
5. Jesse Winker – DH
6. Mark Vientos – 3B
7. Jeff McNeil – CF
8. Francisco Alvarez – C
9. Luisangel Acuña – 2B

The Mets turn to Clay Holmes as he looks to continue his strong 2025. Over six starts and 30 2/3 innings, Holmes has a 2.64 ERA, 2.18 FIP, 1.272 WHIP and a 147 ERA+. He is coming off of a strong outing where he held the Washington Nationals scoreless over five innings. In his last three starts, he has allowed only two runs over 16 innings on ten hits while striking out 16 batters. This includes a start against the Cardinals where he held them to one run over six innings. This will be the second time this season that Holmes will face a team for a second time. In his repeat outing against the Miami Marlins, he had a season-high 10 strikeouts but also allowed a season-high four runs.

The Cardinals have the following career numbers against Holmes:

• Nolan Arenado 2-4, BB
• Alec Burleson 1-3, K
• Willson Contreras 3-8, 2 K
• Brendan Donovan 1-3, 2B, K
• Nolan Gorman 0-3, K
• Lars Nootbaar 0-4, BB
• Pedro Pagés 0-2, BB
• Victor Scott II 0-2, K
• Jordan Walker 0-4, 2 K

Opposing Lineup

1. Lars Nootbaar – RF
2. Masyn Winn – SS
3. Brendan Donovan – LF
4. Nolan Arenado – 3B
5. Willson Contreras – 1B
6. Alec Burleson – DH
7. Nolan Gorman – 2B
8. Pedro Pagés – C
9. Victor Scott II – CF

Sonny Gray has made six starts totaling 35 innings this season with a 3.60 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.000 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. He’s been the definition of quality in his last two outings, allowing six total runs over 12 innings on 13 hits and four walks while striking out 10. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed three runs over six innings on six hits while striking out six batters.

The Mets have the following career numbers against Gray:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-3
• Pete Alonso 2-8, HR, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 7-27, 3 HR, 4 BB, 9 K
• Starling Marte 3-12, HR, 2 BB
• Jeff McNeil 2-6, 2B, K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-11, 4 K
• Juan Soto 5-10, HR, 4 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 3-11, HR, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Jesse Winker 3-10, 2B, 3 BB, 3 K

Game Notes

• The Mets announced that they recalled Austin Warren from Triple-A Syracuse before today’s game while demoting Ty Adcock as the corresponding move.
• Paul Blackburn has begun a rehab assignment with High-A Brooklyn and will pitch tonight as he works his way back from right knee inflammation. He has not appeared in a major league game since sustaining a hand contusion after being hit by a line drive against the San Diego Padres on Aug. 23 last season.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Juan Soto. Was Thursday afternoon the Soto breakout game? He went 2-for-3 with two home runs and a walk, his first multi-home run game as a Met. His next homer will tie the total amount he had in the month of April. Soto has already getting on base at a healthy clip (.379) and now has a .822 OPS to go with a 136 OPS+. He’s hitting bombs on top of that, which just opens things up for the Mets offense.
2. Edwin Díaz. It’s been a minute! Due to the nature of the Mets games over the last week, we haven’t seen Edwin Díaz since April 26. At some point, even if the game script doesn’t require it, we’ll see him. Between his two games on the 21st and 23rd, he allowed two runs on two hits over 2 1/3 innings. In his last game, he allowed no runs and no hits while walking one and striking out three.
3. Hitting with runners in scoring position. The Mets had an opportunity near the end of the game on Thursday to at least tie the game, and the same thing happened on Wednesday night. Between those two games, the Mets were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving 20 batters on base. This just feels like a statistical aberration that has to return to the mean eventually.

Let’s go Mets!

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