Game Chat: Mets vs Orioles, 6:35 PM

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 • 6:35 PM
Oriole Park at Camden Yards • Baltimore, MD
RHP Clay Holmes (8-4, 2.99) vs. RHP Brandon Young (0-3, 7.02)
SNY

The Mets spent the second half of June spiraling, but things are looking a bit better after the first week of July. The Mets ripped off a four-game winning streak, taking a series from the Brewers and the Yankees. Now, the Mets head to Baltimore hoping to start another winning streak.

The Orioles have been one of the more disappointing teams in 2025. They have a lot of young hitting talent, but the pitching has completely fallen apart for them. But things have started to look better for the Orioles recently. They are on a three-game winning streak, winning six of their last nine games (including a sweep of the Braves) and are only nine games under .500. (At one point, they were 16 games under.) Will they continue to soar or can the Mets send them back to the nest?

Mets Lineup

1. Brandon Nimmo – LF
2. Francisco Lindor – SS
3. Juan Soto – RF
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Jesse Winker – DH
6. Jeff McNeil – CF
7. Francisco Alvarez – C
8. Ronny Mauricio – 3B
9. Brett Baty – 2B

Clay Holmes has pitched 93 1/3 innings over 17 starts with a 2.99 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.243 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. He’s coming off back-to-back solid starts, allowing only three runs over 10 1/3 innings against the Braves and the Brewers. In his last five starts, he has a 2.77 ERA and a 5.62 FIP. The discrepancy comes from 16 walks over 26 innings and four home runs allowed.

Over seven games and 6 1/3 innings against the Orioles last year, he allowed seven runs but only three earned from eight hits and two walks while striking out eight. That was all in relief.

The Orioles have the following career numbers against him:

• Colton Cowser 1-4, 2 K
• Gunnar Henderson 1-2, BB
• Jackson Holliday 2-3, K
• Alex Jackson 0-1, BB
• Ramon Laureano 0-2
• Coby Mayo 2-3, 2B
• Cedric Mullins 1-7, HR, K
• Tyler O’Neill 2-7, BB, K
• Jacob Stallings 1-9, 2B, K
• Ramón Urías 3-11, 3 K
• Luis Vazquez 0-4, K
• Jordan Westburg 0-6, 3 K

Opposing Lineup

1. Jackson Holliday – 2B
2. Jordan Westburg – 3B
3. Gunnar Henderson – SS
4. Ryan O’Hearn – 1B
5. Ramon Laureano – RF
6. Colton Cowser – LF
7. Tyler O’Neill – DH
8. Cedric Mullins – CF
9. Jacob Stallings – C

Brandon Young makes his fifth start for the Orioles this evening.

Over his first four major league starts (16 2/3 innings), Young has a 7.02 ERA, 4.83 FIP, 1.980 WHIP and a 56 ERA+. Since rejoining the Orioles, he has allowed seven runs over eight innings spread over two starts from 11 hits and three walks. Young is coming off of a successful 2024 minor league campaign where he had a 3.57 ERA over 111 innings, but has not seen that level of success yet in the majors.

Game Notes

Jesse Winker returns to the active roster for today’s game. Starling Marte was placed on the injured list with a knee bruise in his place.

The Mets called up Alex Carrillo to the bullpen. Carrillo has a great story, bouncing around independent leagues for half a dozen years before signing with the Mets. Zack Pop was designated for assignment to make room.

Kodai Senga will pitch a bullpen on Wednesday, and if all goes well, he’ll start Friday in Kansas City.

Sean Manaea pitches another rehab game tonight, and if all goes well there, the Mets’ plan is to have Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea split the last game before the All-Star Break on Sunday.

The Mets also signed Junior Fernández to a minor-league deal. He’s made 50 appearances in his career but hasn’t had any since 2022. He most recently had a 4.93 ERA in 38.1 innings with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Jesse Winker. Winker returns to the lineup for the first time in over two months. He’s going to get a ton of at-bats now that he’s back, especially with Marte heading to the IL. He could be a great boost to the bottom half of the lineup.
2. Pete Alonso and Camden Yards. Pete Alonso has played seven games in Baltimore hitting .296/.333/.852 with three doubles and four home runs. Now the Orioles have made a lot of changes to the outfield wall over the last couple of years. First, they moved the left field wall, which was physically short (like a tall person could stand over it) back. Then they changed their mind and moved it forward a bit. That being said, Pete likes hitting in Baltimore as he currently chases the Mets franchise record for home runs (currently at 246, chasing Strawberry’s 252).
3. Get to the Orioles Bullpen. The Orioles had to use six relievers on Saturday and three pitchers on Sunday, including two pitchers on back-to-back days. Young has not gotten deep into a game this year and this is a great opportunity for the Mets to set the tone for the series and tire the Orioles out. The Orioles bullpen currently has a 4.50 ERA (25th in MLB).

Let’s go Mets!

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