New York @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 3, 2021 ) NY Mets 5, St. Louis 6
The visiting New York Mets will get to reset their pitching staff before facing the St. Louis Cardinals in a doubleheader Wednesday.
Steady rain caused the postponement of Tuesday night's game in St. Louis. Jacob deGrom had been scheduled to work that game, but right lat soreness forced him to be shut down for a few days.
Manager Luis Rojas planned on having reliever Miguel Castro replace him, creating a challenge for a Mets bullpen that worked 5 1/3 innings Monday night in a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals.
"Everyone's on their toes, a bunch of guys in there said, 'Give me the ball, I'll start,'" Rojas said. "So even though it's been some of those challenging moments, it's been comforting to see how the guys are just ready and they don't get stuck in the moment."
The Mets recalled Jordan Yamamoto, who was going to be the Opening Day starter for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. The team optioned out reliever Sean Reid-Foley to make room for him.
The rainout gave the Mets the chance to regroup ahead of the pair of seven-inning games.
"The advantage is resting the guys, resting the arms," Rojas said Tuesday. "We get today, tomorrow."
The Mets will start Marcus Stroman (3-2, 1.86 ERA) in Game 1. Rojas didn't announce his Game 2 starter, but he suggested Yamamoto was a strong possibility.
The Cardinals will counter with Kwang Hyun Kim (1-0, 3.29 ERA) and Johan Oviedo (0-0, 2.79). The rainout gave them a break in a stretch that was going to see them play on 17 consecutive days.
Stroman has allowed one or zero earned runs in four of his first five starts. He lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies in his last outing despite striking out eight batters in five innings and allowing just two unearned runs.
A tightening hamstring kept him from working deeper into that game. Subsequently Stroman assured Rojas that he would be ready to take his regular turn.
Stroman won his only career start against the Cardinals, in 2014, while allowing one run on seven hits in six innings.
Tuesday's postponement could also buy Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo time to recover from his finger injury.
"Nimmo will have another day," Rojas said. "He showed up better today and might be even better tomorrow and we can include him in there, either in the starting lineup or coming off the bench."
Kim pitched well in his past two starts, allowing just two runs on 12 hits and no walks in 10 2/3 innings.
He is still rebuilding stamina after missing time with a back strain. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt elected not to push him past five innings and 84 pitches in his latest outing, a 4-3 victory in 10 innings over Phillies on Thursday.
Oviedo started April 28 against the Phillies and allowed three runs in five innings. In his only other appearance this season, Oviedo threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings of long relief against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 11.
"Ovie has done well for us," Shildt said. "He's had a couple of opportunities and pitched well. He's got multiple really quality, elite pitches. ... I'm excited to see him pitch. He's got all the weapons."
Oviedo replaced injured reliever Jordan Hicks (inflamed elbow) on the active roster Tuesday. Oviedo and Kim will be making their first career starts against the Mets.
--Field Level Media