Diamondbacks-Mets preview: Pitching probables, key players

For the last three months, the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets have been two of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball.

Arizona has gone 50-24 since the start of June, the best in the bigs, while New York is 44-30. The D-backs went from hanging around on the outside-looking-in portion of the National League Wild Card race to holding the top spot, seven games clear of the first team out — the Mets. A race that looked like it would be defined by a handful of teams fluttering around .500 has seen everyone else remain in that holding pattern except for the D-backs (75-56), San Diego Padres (74-58) and Mets (68-63).

The, erm, Wild Card in the Wild Card has been the Atlanta Braves, who are 70-60 when it was widely presumed that the second-best team in the NL East would be out of reach. The Mets, though, could not only make the playoffs but could do so as that aforementioned runner-up in the NL East when it seemed destined to be the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

A three-game series at Chase Field against Arizona serves as the Mets’ potential last opportunity to keep another Wild Card spot in play, likely requiring a sweep of the D-backs to yank them back down into orbit again. Arizona on the other hand can continue icing out its extreme likelihood of making the playoffs, and to take it a step further, is just three games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead to get a bye in the postseason bracket.

Diamondbacks-Mets pitching probables

Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. MST — RHP Brandon Pfaadt (8-6, 4.08 ERA) vs. LHP Sean Manaea (9-5, 3.48 ERA)

Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. PST — LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.94 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Severino (9-6, 3.84 ERA)

Thursday, 12:40 p.m. PST — RHP Ryne Nelson (9-6, 4.29 ERA) vs. TBD

Allow this series to serve as the beginning of auditions for the last two positions in the D-backs playoff rotation.

Rodriguez was surely penned in before missing four months, and the next five weeks will be about seeing if he can find a rhythm before October. His last outing featured only one earned run against Miami but five of the Marlins’ six hits were off middle-middle misses over the heart of the plate. Pfaadt will have a serious case based off 1) how he pitched last postseason, 2) how he has been the single healthy mainstay this season and 3) if he can locate trustworthy form to round out the year. In his last five starts across 29.2 innings, Pfaadt has allowed 18 earned runs on 35 hits and four walks.

Nelson has pitched the best of any D-back over the last seven weeks, and if those two can’t show serious sharpness while Nelson keeps dealing, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo will at least be forced into a decision that Nelson factors into.

The Mets entered play on Monday 19th in starter ERA (4.19) and tied for 20th in starter WHIP (1.29). Those numbers trend away from above average due a lack of depth beyond Manaea, Severino and Jose Quintana, which inspires a “what could have been?” if All-Star Kodai Senga was healthy. Instead, he’s just made one start this year. The TBD on Thursday was the position of Paul Blackburn, who was placed on the 15-day injured list and is expected to get replaced by Tylor Megill. In 10 appearances, Megill has a 5.17 ERA.

Diamondbacks-Mets hitters to watch

D-backs: Eugenio Suarez has 47 RBIs since July 1, six more than any other player in MLB. And the crazy part is, while Suarez has been doing his job in August, he is eighth on the team in OPS for the month (.851). Others making up for the absences of Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno and Christian Walker include Joc Pederson (1.070 OPS), Adrian Del Castillo (1.011), Geraldo Perdomo (.925), Corbin Carroll (.914) and Jake McCarthy (.900). This team is mashing right now.

Mets: The surge since June has been led by Francisco Lindor, a superstar hiding in plain sight in New York of all places. He’s got a .922 OPS with 21 doubles, 18 homers and 49 RBIs in 56 games across that span.

Two unaccounted for bats in the preseason outlook have really aided his cause. Mark Vientos began the year in the minors and had one more stint down there that will be his last for a while. The 24-year-old is clocking an .885 OPS with 20 doubles, 21 homers and 55 RBIs on the season. His Triple-A Syracuse teammate was 12-year veteran Jose Iglesias, a man that was called up right before the calendar struck June for his first MLB experience since the end of the 2022 season. The 2015 All-Star has batted .325 in 57 games.

How to watch Diamondbacks vs. Mets

All three games are televised on DBACKS.TV through channel 34 on COX, with a radio broadcast on 98.7.

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