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5 things to watch as Mets and Dodgers play three-game series in LA

Danny Abriano
·4 min read
1

Here are five things to watch when the Mets face the Dodgers in a three-game series in Los Angeles starting on Friday night...

Yoshinobu Yamamoto faces New York for the first time

After turning down the Mets (and Yankees, and a bunch of other teams) to take the Dodgers' massive offer this past offseason, Yamamoto will face the Mets for the first time.

Following a poor first start where he allowed five runs against the San Diego Padres and didn't escape the second inning, Yamamoto has started to look like the pitcher who dominated in Japan.

He has allowed just three runs in 15.0 innings over his last three outings for the 12-9 Dodgers while giving up nine hits, walking three, and striking out 19.

Yamamoto's ERA is still a bit bloated because of the start against the Padres, but he's been terrific lately.

As is often the case with pitchers coming over from Japan, Yamamoto has been getting at least five days off between each start. He last pitched on April 12, so he'll be on six days of rest against the Mets.

The Mets' elite (so far) bullpen

New York's pitching staff has the best ERA in the National League.

And it's the bullpen that has stood out the most so far.

Some numbers:

Edwin Diaz: 1.29 ERA, 0.57 WHIP
Brooks Raley: 0.00 ERA, 0.63 WHIP
Adam Ottavino: 2.57 ERA, 0.57 WHIP
Drew Smith: 1.08 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
Jorge Lopez: 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
Reed Garrett: 0.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP

Garrett, who fanned six in 2.0 innings of work on Tuesday, has struck out 17 batters in 8.2 innings.

How is Brett Baty?

Baty left Tuesday's game in the seventh inning due to a tight hamstring and was out of the lineup on Wednesday, but it looks like he and the Mets dodged a bullet.

Baty, who is not expected to get imaging, said he was feeling better on Wednesday.

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (22) reacts after hitting a two run double against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Citi Field.

This is expected to be a day-to-day thing, and it helps that the Mets are off on Thursday. But it would be a bit of a surprise if Baty was back in the lineup for the start of the series against the Dodgers.

While Baty is out, the Mets can mix and match at third base with Joey Wendle and Zack Short, and also have the ability to slide Jeff McNeil there.

Jose Butto is starting to cement himself

Butto's first big league start came in August of 2022 against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, when he was called up before he was truly ready.

That start didn't go well (he allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4.0 innings), and it seemingly put a little stain on Butto in the eyes of some. It shouldn't have.

Here's what Butto has done in the bigs since then...

2023: In 42.0 innings (seven starts and two relief appearances), Butto had a 3.64 ERA (4.02 FIP) and 1.33 WHIP with 38 strikeouts.

2024: Over his first two starts (12.0 innings), Butto has allowed one run on five hits, walked four, and struck out 15 -- good for a 0.75 ERA (1.95 FIP).

The above is why Carlos Mendoza said recently that Butto is going nowhere for now. He has a fantastic changeup and certainly looks the part of a potential rotation mainstay.

Harrison Bader's bat

Bader was brought to the Mets mainly for his center field defense, which is truly elite.

But he's shown flashes during his career on the offensive side of things, too -- especially as it pertains to his ability to hit lefties (slashing .264/.332/.489 against them) and provide pop (he blasted 16 homers in just 103 games in 2021).

And over his last seven games, Bader has risen his triple slash from .192/.222/.192 to .288/.327/.365.

He's done that by getting on base in all of those games, and recording four consecutive two-hit games at the start of this stretch.

If Bader can recapture what he did in 2021 (114 OPS+), the Mets could have a truly dynamic lineup.