Pete Alonso’s first series against the New York Mets went well for the slugging first baseman and the Baltimore Orioles last week.
Brandon Nimmo would welcome a similar outcome for himself and the Texas Rangers this week.
Nimmo and the Rangers will continue their push for the American League West title Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas, when they host the Mets in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
MacKenzie Gore (8-11, 4.67 ERA) is slated to start for the Rangers against the Mets’ Sean Manaea (5-7, 4.74 ERA) in a battle of left-handers.
Both teams were off Monday, having suffered identical 7-2 defeats at home Sunday. The Rangers fell to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite missing a chance to sweep the Blue Jays, the Rangers (78-78) remained one game ahead of the Houston Astros and in control of their own fate in the AL West race. The Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Astros.
The Astros won the season series between the teams 9-4, meaning the Rangers must win the AL West outright to claim the division crown and perhaps become a unique playoff team in history.
No team has ever made the playoffs in a full season with a .500 record or worse. The Rangers have been above the break-even mark at the end of play just three times since Aug. 1 and haven’t been more than two games above .500 since July 29, when they were 55-53.
“You just keep trying to win series — that’s about all you can do,” Rangers shortstop Corey Seager said. “That was a good series. You can’t dwell on today.”
Nimmo, who didn’t play on Sunday due to illness, is batting .260 with 14 homers, 61 RBIs and seven stolen bases for the Rangers, who acquired him from the Mets in exchange for Marcus Semien on Nov. 24.
Trading Nimmo — the Mets’ longest-tenured player through last season — opened up playing time for rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who are batting a combined .267 with 29 homers, 101 RBIs and 46 stolen bases.
But New York hasn’t come close to replacing Alonso, its all-time home run leader, during a disappointing season. While Mets first basemen are batting a combined .239 with 18 homers and 77 RBIs, Alonso is hitting .264 with 38 homers and 105 RBIs.
Alonso helped the Orioles sweep New York Sept. 14-16, part of a five-game skid for the Mets (71-85), their longest skid since interim manager Andy Green replaced Carlos Mendoza on June 26.
New York, which hasn’t finished in last place in the NL East since 2003, enters the final week two games behind the fourth-place Washington Nationals. The Mets and Nationals are slated to conclude the season with a three-game series starting Friday.
“We’ve developed a lot of players in a very short period of time and so that’s something you can really look forward to,” Mets owner Steve Cohen said during an appearance in the SNY booth Saturday. “So it’s true, two things can be true — a lousy season but still something to look forward to.”
Neither Gore nor Manaea factored into the decision in their most recent starts. Gore gave up three runs over four innings in the Rangers’ 7-3 win over the Boston Red Sox last Wednesday, while Manaea allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings in the Mets’ 7-5, 11-inning loss to the Orioles on Sept. 15.
Gore is 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in eight career starts against the Mets. Manaea is 7-4 with a 4.22 ERA in 16 starts against the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
