Scoring Opportunities Should Be Few And Far Between

Mets vs. Twins, 7:40 ET

When I was a young'in, they didn't have Interleague play unless it was a special event. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, but it didn't happen enough. Now, we get every team playing everyone twice per year. It is certainly a better way to go about it, but the special-ness of it all is all but gone. That's fine, we don't need it to be special. What we need is to take home a win as the Mets take on the Twins.

Over the offseason, there was a big name free agent that virtually everyone was interested in signing. Some teams were a little more serious than others, but every team would benefit from his service. That big name was Juan Soto. Soto eventually signed with the Mets and has started a bit slowly for New York. He is still hitting .250 for the year, but he only has one homer, four doubles, and just four RBIs this season. At some point he will kick it into gear. It isn't like the team has buyer's remorse or anything. They are off to a hot start, but that is mostly due to their pitching being great to this point. The team has a 2.30 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Tonight, they have Clay Holmes on the hill. Holmes hasn't been great with a 1-1 record, 4.30 ERA, and a 1.70 WHIP. Although the Mets have won two of the three games he has started, the team has struggled a bit. He doesn't have a ton of experience against the Twins, but he has been fairly decent with a .211 batting average. 

Juan Soto #22 of the New York Mets speaks to the media during the Juan Soto introductory press conference at Citi Field on Thursday, December 12, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The Twins didn't make a big splash this offseason but they did a few years ago when they signed Carlos Correa. After the initial success, they definitely took a step back last year. This year is also off to a rough start with the team winning just five of their first 16 games. The rough start can pretty much be blamed entirely on the offense. The Twins are hitting just .208 against league, and they've only scored 55 runs. 3.4 runs per game is tough at any point in the season. The pitching staff has been almost as good as the Mets in terms of WHIP - 1.22, but their ERA is a bit high at 3.85. Joe Ryan is their starter for tonight and he has been fantastic through two starts. He has a 2.65 ERA with a 0.71 WHIP. His most recent outing, against the Royals, he went seven innings and allowed just two hits and no runs. Ryan has only faced Soto and Jesse Winker in the past, going 0-for-6 combined against Ryan. He has only made one home start though, and he allowed four earned runs in five innings at home compared to the two starts on the road. 

This game features two teams that don't have a ton of offense going for them at the moment. Ryan looked rough in his first home start, but perhaps he will be better in this one. The one clear thing is that neither team is hitting really well. I think this game goes under. Back that and let's hope both pitchers can carry their weight. 

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