This will be the second game of a three-game set, as the opener is currently being played at the time of this writing. These teams meet again in early June for a three-game series in Colorado.
Colorado is 9-47 on the season, the only team yet to win double-digit games, and 3-25 on the road. New York is 34-22 and 21-7 at home. New York is second in the National League East while Colorado is the cellar dwellar in the National League West.
The Rockies are in the midst of a nine-game road trip. It’s been 25 games since the Rockies have had a winning streak. Over that span, Colorado has a record of 3-22. The Mets are finishing a nine-game homestand. After this, they go on the road for seven games. The Mets took two of three games from both the White Sox and Dodgers. Prior to those series, they lost two of three to both the Red Sox and Yankees.
Antonio Senzatela is scheduled to pitch for Colorado while Kodai Senga should get the nod for New York.
Rockies at Mets prediction, preview
Antonio Senzatela has never had a strikeout rate over 18% in his career, but the 11.2% rate this season is really low. The walk rate is only 5.8%. Senzatela used to do a good job of keeping the ball in the yard, but he’s served up nine in 54 innings. Pitching in Coors Field is no joke, so we can’t admonish Senzatela too bad, but he’s been terrible on the road as well this season. In 23.2 innings, the slash is .410/.457/.590 and he’s served up four of the nine home runs away from Coors Field. The 90 hits allowed is the most by a wide margin. Fellow Rockies pitcher, Kyle Freeland, is second with 80 hits allowed.
Against right-handed pitching, the Mets have struck out at the ninth-lowest rate while having the eighth-best ISO. The wOBA is 11th-best.
Kodai Senga posted a 29.1% strikeout rate when he first arrived from Japan. Whether it be injury, change in plan or adjustments by hitters, the strikeout rate is down at 22.8% this season. He’s always done an excellent job of keeping the ball in the yard and he’s only allowed two long balls in 55.2 innings this season. His bugaboo is control, as he’s walked 26 batters so far and the 4.2 BB/9 is 12th-worst in MLB.
Senga has a 1.46 ERA, but he’s been very fortunate. The strand rate is an elevated 86.3% while the FIP is way up at 3.13.
The Rockies have struck out at the second-highest rate against right-handed pitching while being 22nd in ISO. They are 28th in wOBA.
As for bullpens, Colorado has the fourth-highest FIP while New York has the third-lowest.
Rockies at Mets pick, best bet
Away from Coors Field, the Rockies have one of the most inept offenses in MLB. Colorado is 28th in ISO and dead-last in wOBA. In addition, Colorado also has the highest strikeout rate. That does not bode well against Senga, who doesn’t allow long balls and, despite the lowered strikeout rate, can still miss bats. The Mets bullpen is also one of the best in MLB. It’s going to be a long night for the Rockies…again. I’m not too worried about the Rockies scoring. It comes down to the Mets. There’s a good chance they go bonkers, but New York hasn’t scored over six runs in 18 games.
