It mostly has been a charmed year for the New York Mets.
Their stars generally have played like stars, and their starting pitching unexpectedly has been excellent, allowing them to compile the best record in the National League.
But the Tampa Bay Rays are a game away from sweeping their three-game series versus host New York, thanks in part to some former Mets who played important roles in a 7-5 victory on Friday and an 8-4 triumph on Saturday.
Tampa Bay will shoot for the sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The Rays have gotten three hits in the series from Jake Mangum, a fourth-round draft pick of the Mets in 2019, as well as solid relief work Friday night from Eric Orze — who was with the Mets last season — and Edwin Uceta (2023).
Orze got the win and Uceta delivered 1 2/3 scoreless innings to get Pete Fairbanks the ball in the ninth for his 13th save.
“When I got drafted and spent four years with the Mets, this was where, like, your dream destination was,” Mangum said. “So to get here and play a game here, really cool. Great atmosphere. Really loud. Really crowded.”
And so far this weekend, really friendly for the Rays’ bats. They have 25 hits in the series, continuing the dominant trend during a 17-6 surge in their record.
They broke Saturday’s game open with a five-run fourth inning.
“More good at-bats, and we created a lot of traffic,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ve done a lot of things well, getting big hits and capitalizing on our opportunities.”
They’ll try to complete the sweep behind right-hander Shane Baz (5-3, 4.97 ERA). He last worked on Monday night during a 10-8 win in Boston, receiving a no-decision after a 5 1/3-inning stint that saw him give up three runs off three hits and three walks with five strikeouts. This will be his first career game against New York.
Meanwhile, the Mets will call on right-hander Griffin Canning (6-2, 3.22) to try to salvage the series finale. He last pitched on Tuesday night, receiving a no-decision in a 5-4, 10-inning win over Washington. Canning gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.
Canning is 1-2 with a 4.01 ERA in five career outings (four starts) against the Rays. He has struck out 27 in 24 2/3 innings but has yielded three homers.
While New York suffered just its second series loss in 13 series at Citi Field, it did receive relatively good news on the injury front. Right-hander Kodai Senga, who left Thursday’s 4-3 win over Washington with a hamstring injury in the sixth inning, was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and might not miss more than the 15 days he’s scheduled to sit out on the injured list.
“Hopefully he’s symptom-free and we’ll get him back up again,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We feel like it’s relatively good news here. I feel like we’re in a good place, and I’m not anticipating any issues here.”
–Field Level Media
