Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Rockies play a three-game series in Colorado starting on Friday at 8:40 p.m. on SNY.
5 things to watch
Juan Soto is back
Toward the end of the Mets’ homestand, Soto started to look truly comfortable at the plate for the first time this season.
And he carried that with him for the first leg of their road trip as the Mets faced the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Over the last week of games, Soto is hitting .273/.484/.773 with three home runs, two doubles, six RBI, six runs scored, eight walks, and two strikeouts.
With Soto hitting his stride offensively, his patented Soto Shuffle returned — as has his penchant for staring out at pitchers and nodding during his at-bats.
How is Francisco Lindor feeling?
Lindor suffered a fractured pinky toe when he was hit in the foot by a pitch on Wednesday night against the Dodgers — a diagnosis that was learned after Lindor toughed it out while playing the remainder of the game in Los Angeles.
He was out of the lineup on Thursday (after arguing to play), and said he considered himself “day-by-day” — with the plan being to play through the injury.
“It’s not a surgical thing,” Lindor said. “It’s just a matter of tolerating the pain, so hopefully I’m strong enough to play sooner rather than later.”
Meanwhile, manager Carlos Mendoza said an IL stint is not on the table at the moment.
Lindor is in the midst of another MVP-level season, slashing .279/.353/.490 with a career-best 141 OPS+ while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop.
Pete Alonso is on an absolute tear
Since breaking his long home run drought, Alonso has been hitting dingers at a rapid clip. And he’s been on fire overall.
In 39 plate appearances over his last 10 games, he’s hitting .333 with five home runs, three doubles, and 15 RBI.
Alonso’s barrage included two homers and five RBI during Wednesday’s win in Los Angeles, and he added another homer in the series finale on Thursday.
He is now 11 home runs shy of tying the Mets’ all-time record of 252, which is held by Darryl Strawberry.
The Rockies are hot (really)
The Rockies are still on a historically awful pace, but they’re also on a winning streak.
After starting the season 9-50, Colorado swept a three-game series from the very bad (23-37) Marlins.
During that series, the Rockies won the three games by a combined four runs, so there was some randomness and luck involved. But a winning streak is a winning streak.
Still, Colorado remains quite bad. And their starting pitching is a total mess.
During this series, the Mets will face Antonio Senzatela (7.14 ERA, 1.98 WHIP), Carson Palmquist (8.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP), and German Marquez (6.98 ERA, 1.69 WHIP).
A mile high
Games at Coors Field are known mostly for the thin air that causes the baseball to fly much farther than it does at other ballparks.
The thin air can turn extra-base hits into home runs, and also causes lots of would-be fly balls to drop in the shallow outfield because outfielders play deeper to counteract how far the ball carries.
But the air also causes the ball to break/travel differently out of the pitchers’ hands, which is one of the reasons why the Rockies’ offensive home/road splits are often so drastic.
It’s difficult for Colorado’s hitters to constantly adjust to pitches moving differently every time they’re on the road.
As far as the Mets, they’ll be dealing with the conditions for the first and only time this season.
Predictions
Who will the MVP of the series be?
Pete Alonso
His hot streak plus the Rockies’ pitching plus the thin air, should mean damage.
Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?
Kodai Senga
Senga’s Ghost Fork (if it moves like he wants it to) should help combat the thin air.
Which Rockies player will be a thorn in the Mets’ side?
Ryan McMahon
McMahon hasn’t had a great season, but his track record of success is solid.
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