The New York Mets travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs on Tuesday at the start of a three-game series. The Mets are creeping back into the race in the National League East while the Cubs have fallen off as of late and are now in third place in the NL Central Division. The pitching matchup in the series opener will feature Mets' righty Kodai Senga (4-2, 3.77) taking on Cubs' lefty Drew Smyly (4-1, 2.86). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:40 PM EST.
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After a dismal nearly first two months of the season, the Mets might have found their groove again after reeling off three straight wins before a rainout slowed their momentum on Saturday against the Guardians. Now back to .500, the Mets battled the Guardians in a Sunday doubleheader with a chance to gain ground on first-place Atlanta. The Mets took game one of the doubleheader over Cleveland 5-4 after blowing a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning. Max Scherzer gave the Mets six shutout innings and Sterling Marte broke out of his slump with a 3-for-4 game including a go-ahead homer in the 8th inning. In game two, Justin Verlander pitched his best game as a Met in a 2-1 win. Verlander went eight innings and struck out five while allowing just three hits to pick up his second win of the season.
Because you need another angle of this ?? pic.twitter.com/crnkhTGcV9
&mda sh; New York Mets (@Mets) May 20, 2023
The Mets will send Kodai Senga to the hill in the series opener on Tuesday. Senga has a record of 4-2 with an ERA of 3.77 in eight starts this season. He is coming off a 12 strikeout performance against the Rays in which he allowed three hits and one run in six innings of work. On the road this season, Senga is 2-1 in four starts with a 6.30 ERA while allowing 23 hits in 20 innings of work. Senga's K/9 rate on the road is 11.7 while giving up five home runs. The 30-year old Japanese import has a hard-hit percentage of 39.6% in his first year in the big leagues and a strikeout percentage of 29.4%. He has struggled with his control with a walk percentage of 13.9%.
Key Injuries: C Tomas Nido is out.