While the Mets haven’t confirmed who their Game 2 starter of the Wild Card Series will be, the Padres did.
Blake Snell, former Cy Young Award winner, will take on the Mets in the second game of the first round Saturday night.
Padres manager Bob Melvin confirmed the move Thursday, in what seems like a no-brainer for the No. 5 seeded team. Snell had an 8-10 record with a 3.38 ERA this season, but the story of the left-hander’s year is more about what he’s done in the last month.
Over his last seven starts, Snell had a miniscule 1.76 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.
The 29-year-old also has some postseason experience. In his time with the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell made nine total appearances in the 2019 and 2020 playoffs with a 2.83 ERA -- as well as one save.
Snell has pitched against the Mets twice this season. The first was in San Diego on June 6 where he went just four innings and gave up four runs in the loss. The second was at Citi Field on July 23 and he had the opposite result. Snell pitched five scoreless innings to pick up the win.
So, how will the Mets' lineup fare against the Snell on Saturday? Well, it depends.
Francisco Lindor has had the toughest time against Snell, going 3-for-25 (.120) in his career. Eduardo Escobar didn’t fare any better, going 2-for-12 (.167), but he does have two RBI against him.
Many of the other Mets hitters have fared relatively well, including Pete Alonso (.333), Mark Canha (.364), Brandon Nimmo (.333), and Starling Marte (.333). Interestingly enough, Darin Ruf has had the most success against Snell, going 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run, three RBI and three walks in his career against the lefty.