Game Chat: Pirates vs Mets, 7:10 PM

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Mitch Keller (1-4, 4.40) vs. LHP Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.16)
SNY

The Mets look to take the series against the Pirates tonight behind Kodai Senga. Last night, the Mets survived Paul Skenes due to a fantastic performance by David Peterson. Once both starters were out of the game, each team took turns tacking on runs with the Mets eventually walked it off in the ninth.

There is a chance that the Mets could lead the league in wins again by the end of day. Entering today’s slate of games, the Mets, Tigers and Dodgers each have 27 wins.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – RF
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Brandon Nimmo – LF
5. Mark Vientos – 3B
6. Jeff McNeil – DH
7. Francisco Alvarez – C
8. Brett Baty – 2B
9. Tyrone Taylor – CF

Kodai Senga has been phenomenal so far in 2025. Over 38 2/3 innings (seven starts), Senga has a 1.16 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 1.164 WHIP and a 338 ERA+. His walk rate and hit rate are both similar to where he was his rookie season (6.8 vs 6.5 H/9, 4.2 vs 4.0 BB/9). The big difference for Senga so far this season has been his home run rate, going from 0.7 to 0.2.

Over his last two starts he held the Diamondbacks to one run over 10 innings scattering seven hits and eight hits. He didn’t allow a home run to the Diamondbacks, both in Arizona and in Queens, despite the Diamondbacks being a top five home run hitting team this year.

The Pirates have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Ji Hwan Bae 0-3
• Ke’Bryan Hayes 0-3, 2 K
• Andrew McCutchen 0-3, BB, K
• Tommy Pham 1-2, BB
• Bryan Reynolds 0-2, BB, K

Opposing Lineup

1. Adam Frazier – 2B
2. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – SS
3. Bryan Reynolds – RF
4. Joey Bart – DH
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B
6. Alexander Canario – LF
7. Jared Triolo – 1B
8. Ji Hwan Bae – CF
9. Henry Davis – C

Mitch Keller is having another solid, Mitch Keller-esque season for the Pirates. Over 45 innings (eight starts), he has as a 4.40 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 1.400 WHIP and a 96 ERA+. Over his last four seasons, his ERA+ has ranged from 96 to 104, consistently sitting right around league average. Over his last two starts, he has allowed eight hits (seven earned) over 11 innings from 15 hits while striking out nine. Keller had a brilliant start against the Mets in 2024, holding them to two runs over eight innings.

The Mets have the following career stats against Keller:

• Pete Alonso 0-9, K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-7, 2 K
• Brett Baty 0-2, BB
• Francisco Lindor 2-10, 5 BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 0-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 2-12, HR, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-12, HR, 4 K
• Juan Soto 3-8, 2B, BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-4, K
• Luis Torrens 0-3, K
• Mark Vientos 1-5, 2 K

Game Notes

Brett Baty gets the start at second tonight, and Luisangel Acuña heads to the bench.

Francisco Lindor is off to a raging start at Citi Field this year—read more.

Lindor and Brandon Nimmo are seven and eight home runs, respectively, away from entering the Top 10 all-time home run list for the Mets. Lindor is also four away from passing Derek Jeter for fifth all-time for shortstops.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Jeff McNeil. Is Jeff McNeil off to a strong start this season or is there something deeper going on? The last time that McNeil had an OPS above .800 and OPS+ above 100 was in 2022. Over 14 games this season, he has an .846 OPS and 141 OPS+. In his last five games, McNeil has gone 3-for-9 at the plate with a double, triple, home run and three walks (.333/.500/1.000). With Winker sidelined, there are at bats to go around for McNeil, Baty, Vientos and Acuña. We’ll know in a couple weeks if this is a hot streak for McNeil, or if he’s back to his old self.
2. Speed. The Mets are slowly becoming a top 15 club in stolen bases. Tyrone Taylor stole the Mets 31st base last night, moving them to 17th in the league. For context, six stolen bases separates the Mets from 9th in the league. The Mets stolen base leader—Acuña—showed last night the other advantage of having wheels. Acuña was able to score from second base on a ball that took an awkward bounce in the infield and dribbled into the shallow outfield. It’s a different look for the Mets who haven’t really had raw speed like that in some time.
3. Génesis Cabrera. There’s a good chance we see Cabrera tonight. He pitched two innings against the Cardinals on May 4, holding them to two hits and no runs. He then faced the Cubs on May 10, only needing six pitches to get two outs. The Mets were leaning on Minter when he was healthy. When he went down Young took on that work load. We haven’t really seen Cabrera and his 96-mph fastball and sinker take on that workload yet, and the Pirates put out a lefty-heavy lineup.

Let’s go Mets!

The post Game Chat: Pirates vs Mets, 7:10 PM appeared first on Metsmerized Online.