After both teams had a rough opening weekend, the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox will try to bounce back quickly when they begin a four-game series Monday night.
Few teams will be as disappointed with their performance the opening weekend as the Red Sox. On paper, they looked to have an easy series against the Baltimore Orioles. However, the Red Sox ended up dropping two of their first three games. Coming off a down year, it’s not a start that produces a lot of optimism for the rest of 2020.
The Mets are in a similar boat after losing two of three games to the Braves. New York was just one strike away from going 2-0 before Edwin Diaz blew a save, reminiscent of his performance last season. The Mets proceeded to get stomped on national team Sunday night, dropping them to 1-2 on the season.
Wacha, Wacha
The Mets will be turning to Michael Wacha to help right the ship after Rick Porcello got lit up on Sunday. Wacha came to New York during the offseason after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Cardinals.
He is coming off a down year, going 6-7 with a 4.76 ERA last season. However, he’s proven himself to be a more than capable mid-rotation starter in the past and looked sharp during summer camp.
Wacha will go up against a lot of unfamiliar hitters in Boston’s lineup. Of course, the Red Sox have many capable hitters with J.D. Martinez and Jackie Bradley Jr. starting the season red hot. Boston has many left-handed hitters and switch hitters to throw at Wacha, so he’ll need his off-speed stuff to be sharp.
However, Boston’s trio of Xander Bogaerts, Michael Benintendi, and Rafael Devers has started the season a combined 3 for 33, so Wacha and the Mets could be catching the Red Sox at the right time.
Opening Act
Boston will be jumping on the bandwagon and using an opener in Monday’s game. With the team’s starting rotation in shambles, lefty Josh Osich will pitch the first inning or two against the Mets. He will make his first career start before giving way to Zack Godley, who the Red Sox hope can pitch a majority of the game.
The Red Sox picked up Godley in a desperate move after he was released by the Tigers earlier this month. He posted an atrocious 5.97 ERA in 2019, so his career appears to be at a crossroads.
Most of New York’s big sluggers have gotten off to a slow start this year. The Mets have hit just one home run this year while reigning Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso is 1 for 11.
The lone exception is Michael Conforto, who is 4 for 8 early in the season. Conforto is also 5 for 12 in his career against Godley. Dominic Smith could also be a wild card for the Mets, going 3 for 6 with two home runs and a double against Godley.
Waking Up
One of these teams is bound to wake up offensively on Monday night. Given Godley’s struggles last season and the fact that he couldn’t even make Detroit’s roster, the Mets are more likely to find some much-needed offense. Bet on New York to beat Boston on Monday.
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