The Mets travel to the West Coast with a winning streak in tow

The Mets are rolling along right now. The winner of four straight series, the Mets haven’t lost two in a row since they won their first game of the season. The bullpen has looked fantastic, the starters have (for the most part) avoided meltdown games, and the team, up and down the lineup, is starting to hit.

The three-game sweep against the Pirates showed a couple of really promising signs for the club. In all three games, the Mets were either trailing or didn’t get off to a strong offensive start before scoring runs later in the game. Good starting pitching, timely hitting, and that excellent bullpen all showed up for the series and, even when the team was down, there was a confidence from the club that made no game seem insurmountable.

With the team finally over .500 (10-8), the Mets travel to the West Coast to face the always dangerous Los Angeles Dodgers (12-9), currently occupying first place in the National League West. The Mets are catching the Dodgers at a time where things aren’t exactly going right for the L.A., having lost their last two series to the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals. The Padres look to be a good team this year, but the Nationals are…well, they’re the 2020s Nationals, full of young talent and terrible management.

Like the Mets were earlier this season, the Dodgers are in a bit of a pitching crunch at the moment, as evidenced by the Dodgers not announcing starters for the second or third games in the series at the time of writing. With Bobby Miller on the IL and the ghost of Clayton Kershaw not expected to take corporeal form until July at the earliest, the Dodgers are shorthanded in starting pitching right now.

Friday, April 19: Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs Sean Manaea, 10:10pm ET, SNY

Manaea (2024): 14.2 IP, 18 K, 7 BB, 1 HR, 4.30 ERA, 3.47 FIP

Sean Manaea had two good starts to start off his Mets career, and then got rocked over the weekend by the Royals, going just three and two-thirds innings while giving up eight runs (six earned). Manaea (one) joins Luis Severino (one) and José Buttó (two) as the only Met starters to go six innings so far this season. If Manaea an put his bad start behind him, the Mets could use another outing to limit the usage of the bullpen, especially on the road where it is slightly harder to manipulate bullpen churn, something the Mets have been adept this season.

Yamamoto (2024): 16.0 IP, 21 K, 4 BB, 2HR, 4.50 ERA, 3.14 FIP

It would be dishonest to not admit a little bit of satisfaction crept across the consciousness of Mets fans everywhere when Yoshinobu Yamamoto got lit up in his first start for the Dodgers. The Mets’ main offseason target spurned them for the sunny shores of SoCal, and seeing the first start last only one inning was a temporary and petty relief.

Since then, Yamamoto hs been solid, going five innings in each of his subsequent three starts. However, his last start against the Padres saw him give up two home runs en route to a Dodgers loss. His pure stuff has still looked good, and the Mets tend to fall apart against pitchers they haven’t seen before.

Saturday, April 20: TBD vs José Buttó, 4:05pm ET, PIX 11

Butto (2024): 12.0 IP, 15 K, 4 BB, 0 HR, 0.75 ERA, 1.95 FIP

As recently as 2022, Buttó was an afterthought in the Mets system, and seemed unlikely to get many, if any, big league starts. His one 2022 game made that seem logical, but last season Buttó started seven games or the Mets, tossing a 3.64 ERA over 42 innings. That plays as a spot starter for sure.

But this season, Buttó has made two starts and each has been among the best the Mets have seen all season. The only pitcher to throw two quality starts for the Mets, Buttó gave up only one run on five hits and four walks across those two starts. Buttó likely isn’t quite this good, but he’s clearly earned a spot in the rotation for now.

Sunday, April 21: TBD vs Adrian Houser, 4:10pm ET, PIX 11

Houser (2024): 15.1 IP, 9 K, 10 BB, 0 HR, 4.70 ERA, 4.37 FIP

Adrian Houser had a decent start against the Pirates on Monday, where he tossed five and a third innings of two-run ball. However, he walked five batters despite not giving up much hard contact. Houser is a tough pitcher to get a real sense of just yet.