KTE - Going to California - Mets vs. Dodgers

[The Hot Corner]

The Mets are struggling and just not playing well as a team.  Currently mired in a 5 game losing streak that took their record below .500 (7-9) and sitting in last place in the NL East standings.  Luckily, it is still early and there is a lot of baseball yet to play.  As we learned last season the pennant is not won (or lost) in March and April.  The Mets travel to Los Angeles to take on a Dodgers team that is the 2 time World Series Champions and look capable of winning a third straight title.  

 

Who Is Hot

Dodgers 

Andy Pages – Currently leading MLB in hitting with a .429 average, 1.181 OPS and 4 HRs.

Shohei Ohtani – The best player in baseball shows no sign of letting go of his title.  Currently hitting .286 and .996 OPS with 5 HRs.  Besides that he is unscored upon in his 2 starts this season and is sporting 0.75 WHIP.

Will Smith – Hitting .295 with .824 OPS and 2 HRs.

Teoscar Hernandez – Hitting .306 with .858 OPS and 3 HRs.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto – The Mets should see him (oh joy) in the second game of this series.  The World series MVP hasn’t missed a beat thus far in 2026.

 

Mets

Luis Robert, Jr. – A pleasant surprise for the Mets thus far has been the resurgence of Robert.  Currently hitting .319 and .905 OPS with 2 HRs.

Francisco Alvarez – Has continued his improved hitting since being sent down to AAA Syracuse last fall.  Hitting .300 and 1.016 OPS with 4 HRs.

Jared Young – Another pleasant surprise thus far in 2026.  Edgy is a big supporter of Young and he is starting to make a believer out of me.  Hitting .350 with .841 OPS.

Nolan McLean – Over 3 starts has pitched 16.2 innings amassed 20 Ks while sporting 2.70 ERA and 0.84 WHIP.

Clay Holmes – Over 3 starts has [itched 18 innings and is sporting 1.50 ERA and 1.11 WHIP.

 

Who is (Not) Hot

Dodgers

Mookie Betts – Hitting like a Mets regular.  Batting .179 with .710 OPS and 2 HRs.  Currently near the end of a 10 day IL stint.

Roki Sasaki – Has made 3 starts and pitched 13 innings.  Sporting an ERA of 6.23 and 1.85 WHIP.

 

Mets – Where to begin?

Francisco Lindor – For a supposed team leader he seems to have his mind elsewhere at times.  Making uncharacteristic errors, bith physical and mental.  Hitting .188 with .573 OPS and 0 HRs.

Marcus Semien – He’s out-hitting Lindor, but that isn’t saying much.  Hitting .190 with .524 OPS and 1 HR.

Jorge Polanco – Hitting .184 with .565 OPS and 1 HR.  Hobbled with achilles tendonitis so not able to play in the field or run much either.

Carson Benge – Seems overmatched in his MLB debut.  Hitting .130 with .427 OPS and 1 HR.  Would likely benefit from a trip back to Syracuse to find his stroke and regain his confidence.

Mark Vientos – After a quick start he has cooled off considerably.  Sporting a .192 AVG aand .416 OPS past 7 games.

David Peterson – Currently 0-2 with an ERA of 6.14 and 1.84 WHIP.

Luke Weaver – Not providing much relief thus far.  Has allowed 9 baserunners in 6.2 innings and 6 earned runs for a 8.10 ERA.

 

Pitching Matchups

Tonight – David Peterson LHP vs. Justin Wrobleski LHP (1-0 w/ 4.00 ERA & 1.22 WHIP)

Tues.     – Nolan McLean RHP vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto RHP – Should be a great pitchers duel.

Wed.    – The dreaded TBD goes for the Mets vs. Shohei Ohtani RHP

 

Walking (Sitting) Wounded

Dodgers

Blake Snell – Ramping up on rehab assignment for left shoulder tenderness. 

Mookie Betts – Near end of his 10 day stint on the IL with the feared oblique strain.  Could be activated before the end of this series.

Tommy Edman – Rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery.

 

Mets

Juan Soto – The linchpin of the Mets offense.  Still out with “mild” right calf strain.

A.J. Minter – Recently made his 1^st minor league rehab appearance since suffering a left Lat. Tear almost a year ago.

 

Outlook:  The Mets will need to play much better than they did on their recent homestand.  The offense needs to start hitting and producing some runs.  It won’t be easy against the likes of Yamamoto, Ohtani, and the Dodgers pen.  It will be interesting if Diaz sees action against his former team.  The Dodger are hitting .291 as a team for the season.  Peterson will have to pull his act together quick or he could be in for a short night.  Looking forward to seeing how McLean does against the potent Dodgers lineup.  All things considered, the Mets really need to improve their play or they could really get embarrassed in this series and find themselves potentially leaving for Chicago sporting an 8 game skid.

[The Hot Corner]

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted.  My wife had other plans for my day following my doctor appointment this moring.

[MFS62]

28 minutes ago, The Hot Corner said:

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted.  My wife had other plans for my day following my doctor appointment this moring.

Good job

later

[whippoorwill]

wives.... :D

 

Starting to wonder about Lindor.  Maybe he needs a chocolate or two.   They say they make you happy.

 

Anyway, nice job HC, and thank you. hope the appt went well.

 

[MFS62]

3 hours ago, whippoorwill said:

 

 

Anyway, nice job HC, and thank you. hope the appt went well.

 

 

Yes. This^

later

[metirish]

Excellent KTE 

[Edgy MD]

Dodger Exec 1: "Let's spend a gajillion dollars to steal Edwin Diaz from the Mets!"

Dodger Exec 2: "Ooooh!  That would be so cruel!  Imagine how it'll feel when it's a 2-1 game, and he comes in to save the game for US!"

Dodger Exec 1: "No.  Imagine how it'll feel when it's a 2-1 game, and we don't even use him, because he's too precious to deploy against them.  Because the Mets."

Dodger Exec 2: "... 😐"

Dodger Exec 1: "To evil."

Dodger Exec 2: "To evil."

[The Hot Corner]

Sad, but true.

[Frayed Knot]

Going to be coming home from California with an aching in our hearts.