The New York Mets (61-76), who seemingly only play first-place clubs nowadays, continue that trend as they travel to Tampa for a three-game set with the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays (82-54). The two teams last squared off in June 2025, with the Rays sweeping the series at Citi Field. The Rays also swept the 2024 in May 2024 at Tropicana Field, which was well before the Mets used the power of Grimace and OMG to forge their unforgettable comeback and postseason run.
For the third straight series,
the Mets took on a first place club, and for the third straight series. After dropping two out of three to the AL Central-leading White Sox in Chicago and two out of three to the NL Central-best Brewers, the Mets could not best the AL West-leading Astros despite their mid record. The Mets bookended the series with losses, falling in 3-1 on Friday night and 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. They came away with a 6-2 win on Saturday thanks to Nolan McLean’s brilliance and a terrific offensive performance from Jared Young, who drove in three of the team’s runs and contributed three of their hits.
In total, the Mets struggled with hitters in scoring position in the series. They went 0-for-11 in their two losses while going 4-for-12 in their win, making them a combined 4-for-23 against Houston in the series loss. The Mets ended up leaving 16 on base across the series. They did get an offensive boost with the unexpected return of Juan Soto, who did not need a rehab assignment after missing 31 games with a grade 2 strain in his left calf. He picked up the go-ahead hit in Saturday’s win, which came after he fouled a ball off his calf. Then on Sunday, he hit a home run in the first inning immediately following Francisco Lindor’s lead-off homer. In all, he went 2-for-7 with a walk and two runs batted in. While it’s too late to mean anything in the standings, we can all agree watching the Mets with Soto playing is preferable to the alternative.
For those who care about team history and the home run standings in franchise history, Lindor’s home run on Sunday was the 155th of his career as a Met, pushing him past Dave Kingman for sixth on the all-time franchise list—he previously tied Kingman with his home run in Tuesday’s win against the Brewers. Next up in Lindor’s path is Howard Johnson, who hit 192 home runs as a Met. Assuming he remains a Met (which should happen and seems extremely likely), it’s hard to imagine Lindor surpasses HoJo next season, barring a terrific conclusion to his season and a healthy (and power-heavy) 2027 campaign—this also assumes a full season that isn’t affected by a potential lockout. More likely, assuming he plays out his contract in New York, he’ll end up in the top 5 of the team’s home run rankings some time during the 2028 season. With five years left on his contract, it’s easy to imagine Lindor at least gets by HoJo and, eventually Mike Piazza’s 220 dingers, but this again depends on health and other circumstances beyond anyone’s control.
The Rays enter this series on a high after sweeping the Padres in Tropicana Field to extend their winning streak to four games. The victory helped them extend their lead over the Yankees to 4.5 games as they look to hold off the Bronx Bombers, who have been on the comeback trail as of late. The Rays are tied with the Braves and Dodgers for the second-most wins in baseball, trailing only the Brewers in that respect. They are one of only two teams, along with Milwaukee, to sport a .600+ winning percentage this year (thanks to having 54 losses, compared to Atlanta and L.A.’s 55).
The Rays are led primarily by their offense, which has the best OPS (.733) and wRC+ (105) in the American League. They don’t really hit a lot of home runs, as their 142 dingers are 10th among AL squads), and they don’t score a ton, as their 616 runs scored is sixth among AL teams. However, they do not strike out a lot, as their 18.6% K% is the best in the AL. Their rotation also sports a 3.57 ERA, which is third int he AL, with a 3.78 FIP, which is fourth among AL squads. Their bullpen is their weak spot, boasting a 4.06 ERA at the start of play today, which is eighth in the AL and squarely middle of the pack.
The Mets just got done seeing Yordan Alvarez, who is going to run away with the AL MVP award. However, Junior Caminero will not be far behind him in the voting, and in fact is on his tail in two of the three Triple Crown categories. Caminero enters play with 37 homers and 87 RBI (second and third in the AL, respectively) while hitting .282/.369/.539 with a 149 wRC+ and 4.3 fWAR in 136 games. He’s been, by far, the best hitter on the Rays this year. His teammate, Chandler Simpson, has also been chasing Alvarez for the AL batting title. Simpson currently finds himself second to Alvarez with a .309 average in 128 games played. He’s slashing .309/.338/.363 and has not hit a homer, though he uses his speed to his advantage, leading the AL with 37 stolen bases. Yandy Díaz is not far behind Simpson, placing third with a .303 batting average while slashing .303/.371/.465 with 20 homers and a 134 wRC+ in 131 games. Former friend Cedric Mullins also calls the Rays home this year and is hitting .206/.297/.355 with 14 homers, 18 stolen bases, and an 80 wRC+ in 119 games.
Monday, August 31: Robert Stock vs. Ian Seymour, 6:40 PM EDT on SNY
Stock (2026): 20.2 IP, 21 K, 13 BB, 2 HR, 7.40 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 182 ERA-
Stock got knocked around in his last start, but even with Johan Tong coming close to a seven-inning no-hitter in the minors, he still kept his rotation spot for another turn. The Brewers knocked him around early and often, and the right-hander was tattooed for seven earned runs on a season-high 10 hits over four innings. In the loss, he struck out two, walked two, and allowed one home run. His days in the rotation appear numbered, unless he can bounce back quickly, beginning with his Monday night start.
Seymour (2026): 107.0 IP, 128 K, 32 BB, 19 HR, 4.21 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 100 ERA-
Seymour will make his 12th start of the season to go along with his 30 relief outings. The left-hander is coming off an outing in which he entered in the eighth and finished the game for Tampa Bay, picking up the loss against the Tigers after allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He did not issue a walk, struck out five, and surrendered a home run as he picked up his fifth loss of the year.
Tuesday, September 1: Sean Manaea vs. Freddy Peralta, 6:40 PM EDT on SNY
Manaea (2026): 122.2 IP, 120 K, 40 BB, 20 HR, 4.55 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 112 ERA-
Manaea, who had been so good in his previous two starts until he got to the third time through the opposing team’s lineup, was hit early and often in his last start against the Brewers. He was charged with six earned runs on eight hits, with three strikeouts and one walk over 5 2/3 innings. He did well to make it to the sixth considering how badly he was hit around early in his start, which helped save the pen a bit. Still, it represented the first time since July 18 that he failed to complete six innings, a span of six starts. Manaea has been a bright spot of late given how he started the year, and he’ll look to end the season strong, especially to build some positive momentum heading into the final year of his contract in 2027.
Peralta (2026): 141.0 IP, 133 K, 54 BB, 22 HR, 5.11 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 125 ERA-
If you can believe it, Peralta has actually had a tougher time since leaving the Mets, which has added to the pain of his 2026 campaign. The former Met has made five starts since the trade to Tampa Bay and has a 5.60 ERA and a 4.88 FIP across 27 1/3 innings. He is, however, coming off his best start with his new club, a six inning shutout performance against the Tigers that earned him his sixth victory of the season and his first with the Rays. In the winning effort, he scattered two hits, struck out four, and did not walk a batter. In his prior start, he did go seven innings against the Orioles but he allowed five earned runs on seven hits and suffered the loss.
Wednesday, September 2: Christian Scott vs. Shane McClanahan, 6:40 PM EDT on SNY
Scott (2026): 94.2 IP, 113 K, 44 BB, 10 HR, 3.80 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 93 ERA-
Scott put together a solid effort through five innings against the Astros, but unfortunately rank into a brick wall in the sixth and ended up being saddled with the loss. Through five innings, he surrendered just one hit, walked two, and did not allow a run. Then in the sixth after recording the first out, he issued three straight walks, which ended his night. Nate Lavender came in to relieve the right-hander and allowed all three inherited runners to score, which hurt Scott’s numbers. In the end he walked five batters, and he has now walked nine over nine innings in his last two starts, which is not what you want from the younger. He had a really rough August, finishing, finishing the month with a 6.04 ERA and a 4.54 FIP in 25 1/3 innings.
McClanahan (2026): 113.0 IP, 103 K, 38 BB, 9 HR, 3.19 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 76 ERA-
It has been a long road back for McClanahan, who underwent Tommy John Surgery in August 2023 and missed all of 2024, and then missed the entire 2025 season with major nerve irritation that prevented him from pitching. The left-hander enters play with a 3.19 ERA and a 3.41 FIP, both of these are well within his career norms, and his ERA is ninth among AL starting pitchers with at least 110 innings pitched. He picked up a win in his last start against the Padres after allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
