Coming off a 5-1 home stand, the Mets (8-4) are set to visit the temporary home of the A’s (5-8) for a three-game series that begins tonight at 10:05 PM EDT.
Through twelve games, the Mets’ pitching staff has been superb. The team has allowed just 2.67 runs per game so far, the lowest rate in all of baseball. The Mets’ rotation has a 2.43 ERA that’s the best in baseball, and the team’s bullpen has a 1.70 ERA that is second to only the Padres’ bullpen.
The lineup is another matter, as it’s done enough to help the team win two-thirds of its games thus far but has gotten off to a slow start. At 3.75 runs scored per game, the Mets rank 18th in baseball, and they’re somewhat significantly below the major league average of 4.32 runs scored per game.
The A’s, meanwhile, have scored 4.31 runs per game, which is better than the Mets but obviously still isn’t great. They’ve been much worse at preventing runs, though, with 5.62 allowed per game—the third-worst mark in the game.
Tyler Soderstrom has been a force for the Athletics, as he’s launched six home runs and has a .354/.426/.771 line with a 246 wRC+. The 23-year-old was long considered one of the better prospects in the sport, and while it’s very early in the season, he’s staking his claim on a breakout year.
Among the regulars in the A’s lineup, Jacob Wilson (190 wRC+), Shea Langeliers (128 wRC+), and Lawrence Butler (126 wRC+) have hit well above league average. And in limited playing time Luis Urías (155 wRC+) has been very good, too.
Brent Rooker, who put up a 164 wRC+ with 39 home runs last year, has gotten off to a slow start this year with a .190/.217/.397 line and a 77 wRC+, but he shouldn’t be taken lightly. And if you see the name Max Muncy on this roster, well, there are two Max Muncys in Major League Baseball right now, and this one is a 22-year-old second baseman.
In terms of differentiating between the Sacramento rotation and bullpen—not that anyone’s supposed to call them Sacramento, but it’ll happen whether the franchise likes it or not—there isn’t much of a difference. A’s starters have a 5.09 ERA, while their bullpen has a 5.17 ERA.
Simply put, the Mets are the better team, even if the A’s look like they’ll be a bit better than they were last year. Nothing is guaranteed, but the goal here should be a minimum of winning the series.
Friday, April 11: Griffin Canning vs. JP Sears, 10:05 PM EDT on SNY
Canning (2025): 9.2 IP, 10 K, 5 BB, 1 HR, 2.79 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 74 ERA-
Considering how things went for him last season, you really can’t complain with how great Canning has looked in his first two starts as a Met. Ideally, he’d be a bit more efficient and pitch five or more innings per start on average, but if he’s able to keep his ERA at roughly half of what it was last year, that’s pretty great.
Sears (2025): 13.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 2 HR, 3.46 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 92 ERA-
The 29-year-old lefty has put together some good stretches with the A’s over the past couple of seasons, but at the end of each of those years, he had an ERA in the mid-fours. That’s obviously not terrible, but he doesn’t strike out many batters and is a little prone to the home run.
Saturday, April 12: David Peterson vs. TBD, 4:05 PM EDT on SNY
Peterson (2025): 10.2 IP, 12 K, 8 BB, 2 HR, 2.53 ERA, 5.69 FIP, 67 ERA-
The only pitcher on the Mets’ staff with a greater discrepancy between his ERA and FIP right now is A.J. Minter, who’s sporting a 4.15 ERA and a -0.03 FIP. The sky-high FIP for Peterson is mainly the result of his walk rate, bue the fact that he’s given up two home runs in relatively few innings factors in, too. Peterson’s made it work so far, though, and while he’s never been outstanding at limiting walks, he should be able to get things under better control moving forward.
Sunday, April 13: Kodai Senga vs. Luis Severino, 4:05 PM EDT on WPIX
Senga (2025): 10.0 IP, 12 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 1.80 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 48 ERA-
It’s very early, the Mets are limiting his pitch count, and we’d all like to see Senga staying healthy and taking his turn in the rotation—be it a five- or six-man group—every time through. But the strikeouts and walks look very good, and he’s second only to Tylor Megill, who has a 0.63 ERA, among Mets starters right now.
Severino (2025): 19.0 IP, 15 K, 7 BB, 4 HR, 4.74 ERA, 5.40 FIP, 126 ERA-
Having been a memorable member of the Mets’ highly-entertaining 2024 roster, Severino inked a three-year deal with the A’s, his first move out west after having played his home games in New York City for the entirety of his career up to that point. He’s off to a bit of a rocky start, and home runs have really been a weakness in the early going.
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