Series Preview: Mets Finish NL West Road Trip in Colorado

The New York Mets (39-24) were a few outs away from taking three of four from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Instead, defensive miscues forced them to settle for a four-game split with a 6-5 loss Thursday. Despite that disappointment, the Mets were able to secure the season series over the Dodgers, which could wind up being very important down the stretch.

Next up is the Colorado Rockies (12-50), who are coming off a sweep of the Miami Marlins. Hunter Goodman had a monster series, going 7-for-13 with three home runs, two doubles, one triple and five runs batted in. Let’s take a look at some pitching notes ahead of the three-game set.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

• Friday: Kodai Senga (6-3, 1.60 ERA) vs. Antonio Senzatela (1-10, 7.14 ERA): Senga has had a magnificent start to the season. He continued to showcase his elite repertoire in May, pitching to a 1.89 ERA over 33 1/3 innings. If Senga had enough innings to qualify, he would own the best ERA in the National League. He will take his strong pitching to Coors Field, a ballpark he has yet to pitch at since coming over from Japan. Senzatela is right in the thick of a very difficult stretch individually. He has suffered a loss in seven consecutive starts, dating back to April 26. During that period, Senezatela has pitched to a 8.82 ERA. He will look to improve on his 1-5 record and 7.42 ERA at home this season.
• Saturday: Clay Holmes (6-3, 3.07 ERA) vs. Carson Palmquist (0-4, 8.50 ERA): Holmes is coming off his longest outing of the season, throwing seven innings against the Rockies in a 5-3 win last Sunday. It was an impressive performance for him, as he was able to pitch deep into the game while throwing just 85 pitches. One thing to note with Holmes: he has allowed at least one home run in four of his last five starts. That’s something to keep an eye on in the altitude this weekend. Palmquist has had a bumpy start to his big league career. In three of his first four outings, he has allowed at least four earned runs. Palmquist faced the Mets last weekend at Citi Field, where he gave up a three-run home run to Pete Alonso and a solo homer to Francisco Lindor.
• Sunday: Tylor Megill (4-4, 3.77 ERA) vs. Germán Márquez (2-7, 6.98 ERA): Megill got tagged for four runs in the first inning against the Dodgers on Tuesday. But, to his credit, he was able to settle in. Megill followed that up with five scoreless innings, departing the game with the Mets in front. He is 1-2 with a 5.66 ERA over his last seven starts and is in dire need of a quality outing. Márquez had a brutal April and May. He was 1-7 with a 8.04 ERA over 47 innings, a stretch that included six straight losses. Márquez does have a solid track record against the Mets in his career though, going 4-2 with a 3.56 ERA over eight starts.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

A lot has gone wrong for the Rockies this season. One of the biggest reasons why their record is as bad as it is centers around their lack of offense at home. From 2021 through 2024, the Rockies ranked no worse than fifth in any season in terms of runs per game at home. In 2022, their 5.63 runs per game at home was the best mark in baseball. This season, however, that number has dropped significantly. Their 3.96 runs per game at home ranks No. 23 in baseball. Their offense at Coors Field usually plays up, but that hasn’t been the case so far this season.

PREDICTION

Sweeping six games from any opponent, even one with the worst record in baseball, is not easy. That is what the Mets will be looking to do this weekend. The Rockies have been swept at home by three teams this year: the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. That list will grow to four this weekend. A game or two will be tight, but the Mets will have enough offense to win all three.

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