The New York Mets have endured some significant injuries to their rotation this season but have been able to stay atop the National League East.
The latest setback is the news that Max Scherzer will miss six to eight weeks with a moderate to severe oblique strain sustained in his start on Wednesday. He joins fellow Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom as well Tylor Megill on the shelf.
New York has found a way to win despite the injuries and will try to continue its string of success when it opens a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night in Denver.
The Rockies were off Thursday while the Mets were earning a dramatic 7-6, 10-inning win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Pete Alonso’s two-run, 447-foot homer. New York took three of the four games from the Cardinals.
Colorado lost two of three against the visiting San Francisco Giants to open the week, winning just the finale on Wednesday, 5-3.
The Mets will send right-hander Carlos Carrasco (3-1, 3.73 ERA) to the mound on Friday while the Rockies will counter with righty German Marquez (1-3, 6.16).
Carrasco has never faced the Rockies while Marquez is 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA in five career starts against New York.
While the teams are slated to play three games, weather could be a major factor for the Mets’ only scheduled visit to Denver. After temperatures reached the high 80s on Thursday, a wintery storm is forecast to roll into Colorado early Friday. Some models are predicting 5-8 inches of snow into Friday night.
The conditions will continue to be poor Saturday, with precipitation in the morning and highs predicted to stay in the 30s.
New York has not announced a move to fill Scherzer’s spot on the roster, but David Peterson traveled with the team to Denver and is a likely starter for Saturday. Peterson was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in late April, and he briefly returned to the majors for a spot start during a May 3 doubleheader.
Filling holes in the rotation from within is the preference, according to manager Buck Showalter.
“The perfect world is you’re self-sustaining with your own people,” Showalter said. “There’s another opportunity for somebody to step up. And I think it creates good morale in the organization when Tylor Megill and Peterson … think that we’re going to look within first, before we start coveting somebody else’s players. We’d like to have the answers be here.”
The Rockies, after a good start to the season, lost seven of eight games before winning Wednesday to end a 12-game skid against the Giants.
Colorado has been known for its offense over the years, but its defense has been stellar for just as long. The Rockies have consistently had Gold Glove winners, but the defense has been lacking in 2022.
Colorado ranks 26th in the majors in fielding percentage at .979 and has committed 29 errors, more than all but three teams. The Rockies had three errors in the first two games against San Francisco but none while winning the Wednesday afternoon series finale.
“I like the fact that we played a good, clean game,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “When we play a clean game, we win. Look back at our wins, that’s usually how it’s drawn up.”
–Field Level Media
