On the road again… Tampa Bay Rays Series Preview

Probable Pitchers:

Friday May 3 6:50 PM SNY Quintana (1-2) Civale (2-2)

Saturday May 4 7:15 PM FOX Scott (MLB Debut) Littell (1-2)

Sunday May 5 1:40 PM SNY Severino (2-2) Pepiot (3-2)

The New York Mets (16-15) are on the road for a six game road trip starting with the Tampa Bay Rays (14-18).

The biggest story for the Mets this weekend is the debut of right handed pitcher Christian Scott. With a very busy month of May for the Mets it looks that they will use a six man rotation for the foreseeable future to give every starter an extra day of rest.

Scott has been incredible up in Syracuse posting a 3-0 record with an ERA of 3.20, a 0.71 WHIP and 36 strikeouts through five starts. He also has only given up six walks in the five starts which is great news for the Mets as that has been a major problem for the current starting rotation. The biggest issue with Scott is that he gave up seven homeruns over those five starts. Every one of the home runs he has given up have not cost Scott that much damage due to the fact they are all mostly solo shots, but seems to be prone to the long ball. Will be an exciting debut for Mets fans to watch this Saturday.

The Rays are off to a rough start with a 14-18 record. There star players Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz both have been freezing cold to start the season. Arozarena currently holds an average of .139 with an OPS of .455, to put that in perspective his career average is .257 and a career OPS of .781. You have to think that these two will turn it around at some point this season, but will Mets pitchers be able to hold them back for just the weekend?

The Rays pitching staff has not helped the cause for there current record. Looking at the league ranks the Rays are 25th in ERA (4.63), 4th in hits given up (279), 5th in earned runs (147), and 2nd in home runs given up (42). The Mets have an opportunity to really take advantage of a weak Rays pitching staff and start to get hot as a team offensively.

After the homestand, the Mets are currently five games back from the Braves in the National League East and are tied with the Reds for the last wild card spot with a game lead over the Washington Nationals.