New York, NY – It’s been a rough week for the Mets and their fans. The Amazin’s come home in an 0-2 hole for tonight’s game 3. After letting a lead slip away in game 1, the Mets got blown out Wednesday and now come home hoping their bats – so prolific down the stretch in the regular season – can find a way to push enough run support across for their ace starters to win. They enter tonight’s tilt in desperate need of a win. But don’t worry, they’ve got just the guy for the job on the mound.
Noah Syndergaard gets the call and he’ll load the Mets up on his arc and flood the Royals with strikeouts (too much?). The Mets were in similar holes in 1986 and 2000. I think this series will turn out more like the ’86 version with the Mets winning a deciding game 7. The Royals will struggle without the Designated Hitter and with the pitcher hitting for the next three games. And it will be tougher to (allegedly) steal signs on the road. I know the Amazin’s fans are hoping to avoid a repeat of the fall classic fifteen years ago when any momentum the Mets had after the game-3 win was erased after the first pitch in game 4. Not to worry, folks. This series will be more like ’86.
The Mets bats will need to wake up if they are going to come back in this series. In Wednesday’s Game 2, Lucas Duda had both of the Mets’ hits. The rest of the lineup has gone missing this series. The big bats that powered the Mets past the Nationals to win the division will need to show up tonight to make this a series. Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright will need to produce. And Travis D’Arnaud has done nothing with the bat so far.
The Kansas City bats have been lively so far this series, as they have been all season. From top to bottom, the Royals have hitters that can get on base. But I think Syndergaard will pitch to form tonight for the Mets and shut the red-hot Royals down and the Mets bats will do enough to win tonight.
Tomorrow things get a little trickier. Matz will probably be on a short leash against a potent Royals lineup and the Mets may need to piece together 4+ innings out of the bullpen. Getting a good performance from the Mets hitters tomorrow will be especially important. An electric, Saturday night, halloween atmosphere at Citi Field might provided the spark the lineup needs to start producing more runs. I think the Mets lose game 4 and win 5, 6, and 7 to take the series. That’s a prediction from a guy who knows nothing and could really care less who wins the series so take it with a grain of salt. It will all unfold tonight so tune in and come back tomorrow.
