We didn’t get the time to forget about you.
A summary of days past.
I swear I had no idea that I actually signed up for a Series Preview with a team we met just some days ago. That’s a bit of a bummer, because now I don’t have many ingredients to stew something interesting.
Let’s take a quick look back…
- On April 29, Eduardo Rodriguez took one right at the chin and flew a couple of yards through the air before he hit the ground again. When he got up, the Mets had given him 3 uppercuts and were dancing around Citi Field with a 7-0 lead. The Mets had a best franchise 30 game start of the season since 2006, Rodriguez gave up 8 runs for the first time since 2016. The Mets had some nice diving catches, with Pete Alonso doing a Superman three times. It looks like the better version of Christian Walker has reincarnated in New York.
- On April 30 Torey Lovullo got his 600th win as a Diamondbacks manager after Corbin Burnes did an Indiana Jones imitation to end up with a win. The Diamondbacks were able to pinch hit themselves with a Perdomo double to a 4-1 lead before Justin Martinez and his velocity drop almost blew the game.
- On May 1 the majority of Europe was having a day off and so did the Mets’ offence. Zac Gallen all of a sudden pitched a good game again despite allowing almost billionaire Juan Soto hit his first homer as a Met at Citi Field. Ginkel struggled but survived and Shelby Miller got the save en route to a first home series loss for the Mets since August 2024.
Weird stuff.
- The Diamondbacks stayed in the east to open a series against the Phillies on May 2. It was a narrow loss where the “B” bullpen (there is an “A” bullpen right now in Arizona?) could not hold on to a narrow 2-1 lead and Juan Morillo (remember his name for the off-season “can you name all 2025 Diamondbacks) gave up consecutive homers to Schwarber and long-time Twin Max Kepler to sink the Diamondbacks to a 3-2 loss with a crampy Kelly. The Mets, on the other hand, started a game in Saint Louis and, boy oh boy, did they slug. 17 hits but “just” 9 runs, still enough to beat the Cardinals with ease (9-3).
- On May 3 the Phillies achieved a nice beating despite Aaron Nola’s neck lock on the right side. Pfaadt was Pfaadt again as in this time he gave up a lot of runs. Gurriel’s two homeruns were worthless and the Diamondbacks went out with a bang (7-2). The Mets’ game against the Cardinals was postponed because of rain.
- On May 4 Shelby Miller finally broke down for the first time this season. He blew the save and just narrowly avoided the Diamondbacks a hard-to-swallow loss, after leading the game with 7-1 after the top of the 4th. Eduardo Rodriguez was once again a disappointment but the offence came up big with Perdomo and Carroll in leading roles and even a clutchy Jose Herrera, guiding the Diamondbacks to an 11-9 win in extras. The Mets nearly had a comeback in St. Louis on Sunday, but ended up short in a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals.
“Incomplete,” is the grade Lovullo gave his team. “Because we have yet to play our best baseball. We’ve got to start clicking on all cylinders and when we do, everybody’s going to know. But yeah, when you compare yourself to the two teams in the NL East, and one [the Mets] is clearly pacing the NL East, and you come home 3-3, I’m OK with that. I want to win more than we lose, for sure, but I’m OK given the circumstances.” – Torey Lovullo as quoted on mlb.com
Matchups.
Game #1 Mon 05/05 6:40 PM MST, Ryne Nelson (ARI) vs Griffin Canning (NYM).
Golf night.
- Ryne Nelson. 7 G, 0 GS, 17.0 IP, 1 W-0 L, 5.82 ERA, 2.19 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 5.00 K/BB.
- Griffin Canning. 6 GS, 31.0 IP, 4 W-1 L, 2.61 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, 2.21 K/BB.
Now Corbin Burnes, the almost 300 million dollar man, has gone down with shoulder fatigue, the Diamondbacks have once again opened a spot in the rotation for Ryne Nelson. Nelson was pretty much doomed for the bullpen after the Diamondbacks signed Burnes and he hasn’t been that good in that role. He did fine in very long relief in the game were Eduardo Rodriguez was knocked around by the Mets and was then saved for today’s game once it was clear Burnes would be sidelined for a while. Nelson gave up 9 runs in two encounters with the Cubs, but gave up only 2 runs in his other 5 appearances. That means we have no idea what to expect today.
It won’t be the first time Griffin Canning pitches against the Diamondbacks. In 2024 and 2023 he pitched for the Angels and both times ended up with a loss against Arizona. He might have been a somewhat surprising acquisition for the Mets this season, because he was not particularly good for the Angels the past two seasons. However, he has done great so far in New York. He relies on a four-seamer, slider and change-up. Especially the four-seamer has been terrific for him this year, yielding low exit velocities and being difficult to bat against. Canning isn’t shy to issue a walk though, so there lies the opportunity.
Game #2 Tue 05/06 6:40 PM MST, Zac Gallen (ARI) vs David Peterson (NYM).
Nurse appreciation night.
- Zac Gallen. 7 GS, 38.1 IP, 2 W-4 L, 4.93 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 2.39 K/BB.
- David Peterson. 6 GS, 32.1 IP, 2 W-1 L, 3.06 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 1.37 WHIP, 3.33 K/BB.
This will be an interesting matchup as both pitchers were excellent in their previous starts against the Mets and Diamondbacks.
Game #3 Wed 05/07 12:40 PM MST, Merrill Kelly (ARI) vs Kodai Senga (NYM).
DBacksEurope appreciation day.
- Merrill Kelly. 7 GS, 37.2 IP, 3 W-1 L, 4.06 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, 2.25 K/BB.
- Kodai Senga. 6 GS, 32.2 IP, 3 W-2 L, 1.38 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 2.58 K/BB.
Both pitchers were excellent as well in their last starts against the opponent, but Kelly got the cramps again and Senga was simply outpitched by Gallen. Both will get the opportunity to blind their opponents again and to see who comes out on top.
It’s a tough series against an opponent that in effect has had an extra day off because of the postponed Saturday match against St. Louis. For every matchup I think the Diamondbacks are not the favourite and with a potent offence and great defence behind the pitchers, I will give advantage to the Mets in this series. However, we took the series in New York, so who knows.