The Mets will look to get back on track after an uninspiring series to kick off the second half.
The Mets (56-44) will look to right the ship and finish off their homestand on a high note as they welcome the Angels (49-50) to Citi Field for three games. The Mets own a 13-14 record all time vs. the California Angels Anaheim Angels Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Los Angeles Angels, including dropping two of three last year at Angel Stadium. They last welcomed the Angels to Citi Field in 2023, when they dropped two of three as well.
The Mets are coming off a series in which they dropped two of three to the Reds in a less-than-stellar showing coming out of the break. Things began with a discouraging 8-4 loss on Friday night on the eve of David Wright’s number retirement ceremony. The Mets jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a Juan Soto solo shot in the first and a Jeff McNeil run-scoring hit in the second, which drove in Brandon Nimmo. Sean Manaea, in his first start of 2025, gave the Mets four innings of one-run ball, but after allowing a solo homer in the fourth, he was lifted due to a pitch count in favor of Alex Carrillo, who surrendered three homers and five runs. Brandon Waddell gave up two more runs to make it a seemingly impossible deficit to overcome. The Mets then pushed two across in the ninth and had the bases loaded with Francisco Lindor strolling to the plate, but he popped up to end the comeback attempt.
After honoring The Captain with a touching pre-game ceremony on Saturday, the Mets came out flat with a 5-2 defeat. The Mets again jumped out in front 2-0 with a run in the first and a Brett Baty home run in the second but again didn’t do much after that point. A key error from Luis Torrens in the third opened the flood gates, allowing two runs to eventually score, and Cincinnati would push another across in the fourth and two more in the sixth against Clay Holmes. The Mets’ offense went down meekly, going 1-for-10 while leaving 11 on base.
The Mets rebounded for a 3-2 win on Sunday to salvage the series finale. David Peterson allowed just one unearned run in the first but was otherwise stellar, going toe-to-toe with fellow NL All Star Andrew Abbott. Nimmo tied the game in the third, and the Mets went ahead on a Luisangel Acuña double in the fifth—his first double since May 2. After the Reds tied it up against Reed Garrett and Edwin Díaz in the eighth—it represented Díaz’s second blown save of the year—the Mets re-took the lead in the bottom of the frame as Soto scored on a Torrens grounder to second base. Ryne Stanke shut the door in the ninth inning for his second save of the season.
Despite the Sunday win, the same issues that have plagued the Mets this year popped up again this weekend. The Mets struggled with runners in scoring position, going 3-for-20 on Saturday and Sunday and faltering in many of the big spots they were presented with. Their bullpen also struggled at times, while two of their starters struggled with length in their starts, which will continue to put pressure on their relievers. These are the key areas the team will need to address heading into the deadline.
The team will be getting one of its young bats bat, as they are calling Francisco Alvarez back up from Triple-A. The catcher has been on a tear, hitting seven homers in his last 19 Triple-A at-bats and had 10 homers in Triple-A overall after hitting just three in the majors. Prior to his demotion, Alvarez was slashing .236/.319/.333 with a 92 wRC+ in 35 games for New York.
The Angels enter this series after doing the Mets a solid and taking two of three from the Phillies. Prior to the break, the Angels won two out of their three games against the Diamondbacks.
The Angels enter play ranked 9th in the AL in OPS (.718) and 10th in wRC+ (98). They are a team that does not walk a lot, as their 7.8% BB% is 11th in the AL, and they strike out a lot. In fact, their 25.8% K% is the worst in the AL, and second only to the Rockies in MLB. Their starting pitching has also a weak spot, with a 4.36 ERA (12th in the AL) and a 4.45 FIP (11th in the AL) this season. But their bullpen has been even worse, posting a 5.12 ERA (second-to-last in the AL) this season.
Mike Trout, despite not being what he once was given a series of injuries and ailments over the past few years, still leads the club with a 126 wRC+ while slashing .241/.363/.471 with 17 home runs in 73 games. He missed most of May but has otherwise played more than he has in recent seasons. Taylor Ward leads the club with 23 home runs and 73 runs batted in while hitting .231/.304/.491 with a 115 wRC+ in a team-best 97 games. Zach Neto leads the club with a 2.1 fWAR and has the team lead with 18 stolen bases and 65 runs scored while posting a .281/.328/.488 slash line with 15 homers in 80 games.
Monday, July 21: Kodai Senga vs. Tyler Anderson, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY
Senga (2025): 77.2 IP, 74 K, 33 BB, 4 HR, 1.39 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 35 ERA-
Senga made his long-awaited return to the mound ten days ago against the Royals after missing nearly a month. Senga pitched four innings and scattered four hits while striking out four and walking two. He ran up against his pitch count and was unable to finish up the five innings necessary to secure a win. Still, it was an encouraging sign, and his health and performance will go a long way towards determining how the Mets’ second half goes.
Anderson (2025): 101.2 IP, 82 K, 39 BB, 17 HR, 4.34 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 106 ERA-
After winning his third and fourth starts of the season, Anderson has failed to pick up a win in any of his last 15 starts while earning six losses in those outings. The veteran left-hander has been up-and-down in that stretch, with some great starts and some not-so-great starts. He began this month with six shutout frames against the Braves, but he followed that up by allowing three earned runs on eight hits over five innings to the Blue Jays (loss) and four earned runs on eight hits in five innings against the Diamondbacks (no decision)
Tuesday, July 22: Frankie Montas vs. Kyle Hendricks, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY
Montas (2025): 19.2 IP, 17 K, 4 BB, 4 HR, 5.03 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 127 ERA-
Montas is coming off his best start in orange in blue against Kansas City. The right-hander pitched five shutout innings and pitched into the sixth before allowing back-to-back doubles to begin the sixth. He ended up pitching five-plus innings of one-run ball, striking out five while not walking a batter. He picked up his second straight win. If he can give the Mets more outings like that, their rotation will be in much better shape in the second half.
Hendricks (2025): 96.0 IP, 65 K, 24 BB, 16 HR, 4.88 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 119 ERA-
Like Anderson, Hendricks has had an uneven year for the Angels. The veteran has had some really great starts, including a 7 2⁄3 inning performance against the Tigers on May 3, but some really rough ones as well. In his final start before the break, he only lasted 3 2⁄3 innings against the Rangers, which was a season-low for the right-hander. He allowed five runs (four earned) and struck out three, but ended up with a no decision. Prior to that, he allowed three earned runs on four hits in 5 1⁄3 against Toronto.
Wednesday, July 23: Sean Manaea vs. TBD, 1:10 PM EDT on SNY
Manaea (2025): 7.1 IP, 13 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 2.45 ERA, 2.54 FIP, 62 ERA-
Manaea was great in his first official start since coming off the IL. He struck out six over four innings and walked two, and he only allowed a solo home run during the outing. Unfortunately, his pitch count prevented him from pitching into the fifth, and the bullpen promptly gave away the game. If he can pitch like this and go deeper into games, it’ll be big deal for the Mets, who need more from their rotation than they’ve gotten over the past few weeks.
TBD
The Angels have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s series finale.