The Detroit Tigers and New York Mets don’t have much in common so far this season.
But they were both foiled by Mother Nature on Tuesday — and might be at the mercy of the weather again on Wednesday night.
The Tigers and Mets will attempt to resume their scheduled three-game series Wednesday, when Detroit is slated to visit New York in the middle game of the set.
Tigers right-hander Casey Mize is scheduled to make his first big league start and appearance in almost two years against Mets right-hander Adrian Houser (8-5, 4.12 ERA in 2023).
Mize and House were scheduled to start Tuesday, when rain pelted the New York area most of the afternoon and evening before the game was postponed about 9 p.m. following a two-hour delay. That game is scheduled to be made up Thursday at 1:10 p.m.
The forecast for Wednesday was just as dire, however, as of daybreak, with at least a 90 percent chance of rain almost every hour beginning at 1 p.m. and running throughout the day.
The Tigers remained perfect Monday night, when they scored five runs in the 10th inning to earn a 5-0 victory over the Mets. Detroit’s 4-0 opening is its best start since the 2015 team was 6-0.
The Tigers’ winning streak has featured plenty of resourcefulness. Prior to arriving in New York, Detroit won three consecutive one-run games against the Chicago White Sox in which the teams were separated by more than one run in just four of the 28 innings.
On Monday, the Tigers and Mets combined to get one runner beyond second base in the first nine innings. Carson Kelly tried scoring from second on a sixth-inning single by Andy Ibanez but was thrown out by left fielder Brandon Nimmo.
“Just keep fighting — we’re never out of it,” said Kelly, who closed the 10th-inning rally with a three-run homer. “We play nine innings for a reason. And if we don’t score for the first six or seven or eight or nine, then we still have a chance.”
The loss Monday continued a frustrating stretch for the Mets, who have lost their first four games for the first time since the 2005 team began 0-5. Nimmo, former National League batting champion Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor are hitting a combined .069 (3 of 44) without an extra base hit.
The Mets are batting .188, the fifth-lowest team batting average through four games in team history and the lowest since the 2014 team hit .184 during a 1-3 start.
“I just feel like we just haven’t found our footing,” Lindor said. “Everybody shows up early, (takes) batting practice, studies well, prepares. The coaching staff is preparing us. We know what we’ve got to do. We just haven’t executed.”
Mize won a rotation spot by going 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA in six spring training games (five starts). He last appeared in a professional game on April 14, 2022, one day before he was placed on the injured list with a right elbow sprain. Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, underwent Tommy John surgery two months later and also had back surgery later that summer.
Mize has never opposed the Mets. Houser, who spent the first seven seasons of his big league career with the Milwaukee Brewers before the Mets acquired him on Dec. 20, 2023, is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the Tigers.
–Field Level Media
