Amid their worst season in more than two decades, the New York Mets can’t even get a break from Mother Nature.
Following an unexpected day off Tuesday, the Mets will host the Atlanta Braves in a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday for the final two contests of a three-game series.
Tuesday’s game was postponed due to thunderstorms in the New York area.
Left-hander Sean Manaea (2-5, 4.52 ERA) and right-hander Christian Scott (3-2, 3.13) will start, in that order, for the Mets on Wednesday.
Scott had been slated to start Tuesday against Braves ace left-hander Chris Sale (11-6, 2.19), who will pitch Wednesday night in the second game.
The Braves are expected to activate right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver for the opening game of the doubleheader. Smith-Shawyer hasn’t pitched for Atlanta since he underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last season.
Francisco Lindor hit two of the Mets’ four homers in a 14-3 romp over the Braves in the series opener on Monday. The win was the second straight for the Mets, who recorded an 8-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
The Mets’ 22 runs over two games matched New York’s total in a seven-game span that ended Saturday. Such inconsistency has been the norm this season for the Mets, who are 45-62 and in last place in the National League East — where they haven’t finished last since 2003, when they went 66-95.
“Up and down the lineup, we had really good at-bats,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “Team effort and a fun one.”
The Braves didn’t have much fun over the last three innings Monday, when Connor Thomas gave up 11 runs before utilityman Jorge Mateo got the final out. The 14 runs allowed were a season high for Atlanta.
The lopsided loss continued an inconsistent stretch for the Braves, who have gone 17-23 since June 7.
Atlanta, which led the NL East by as many as 10 1/2 games in May, enter Wednesday’s doubleheader with a six-game lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies.
Consistency hasn’t been an issue for Sale, who has allowed three runs or less in each of his last 16 starts — including last Thursday, when he earned the win after surrendering three runs over six innings as the Braves edged the San Diego Padres 6-5.
Sale is 36-14 with a 2.39 ERA for the Braves since 2024 after going 17-18 with a 4.16 ERA for the Boston Red Sox while battling multiple injuries from 2019 through 2023.
“It defies logic, really,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “After all the time he’s missed in Boston and then coming here and doing what he’s done to rejuvenate an already great career, at this point in his career, is amazing.”
Sale is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. He faced them on July 4, throwing five innings of three-run, seven-hit ball, striking out three and walking two in a 14-3 victory.
Manaea didn’t factor into the decision last Friday, when he gave up one run over six innings as the Mets fell 4-2 to the Dodgers. He is 0-3 with a 3.72 ERA in five career games (four starts) against the Braves.
Scott took the defeat in his most recent start after allowing three runs over 3 2/3 innings in the Mets’ 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers last Wednesday. He is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against the Braves.
Smith-Shawver made his fifth rehab start last Thursday, when he allowed an unearned run over four innings for Triple-A Gwinnett. He has never opposed the Mets.
–Field Level Media
