The Mets (25-25) take on the Chicago Cubs (22-26) on Thursday night from Wrigley Field at 7:40pmET. The Cubs have won the first two games of the series and are looking for the sweep. Overall, the Cubs have won six straight games in this series.
The Mets send Carlos Carrasco to the mound against Kyle Hendricks.
The Mets had won five straight games over Cleveland and Tampa Bay before they traveled to Chicago to take on the Cubs. They lost Tuesday's game 7-2 and on Wednesday, fell 4-2 to former pitcher Marcus Stroman. In Wednesday's loss, Francisco Alvarez hit a two-run homer to give New York a 2-0 lead in the third inning, but that was short-lived as the Cubs put up three runs in the third against starter Kodai Senga. The left-hander allowed six hits and three runs in five innings, but was hampered by his control with five walks.
Wind can't stop Francisco Alvarez! ?? pic.twitter.com/wubIMl9faw
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 25, 2023
New York will send Carrasco to the mound, who is 0-2 with an 8.68 ERA. He missed about a month with an elbow issue and pitched his first game on Friday, allowing five runs and five hits in five innings against Cleveland (10-9 win). Carrasco has struggled in four starts this season, allowing five or more runs in three of those starts.
The Mets have struggled on the mound, producing an ERA of 4.70 (24th) and a WHIP of 4.70. Their starting rotation (5.17 ERA) has been awful as opponents are hitting .256 against them. The bullpen has been a bit better with an ERA of 4.07 (opponents are hitting .222). A bright side on offense has been Pete Alonso, who is hitting just .231, but has 18 homers (1st in baseball) and 43 RBIs to rank fourth in the MLB.