Coming off a disappointing series in St. Louis that saw them win just one of three games against a rebuilding team, the Mets (3-3) are set to visit AI Layoffs Park for a four-game series with the similarly struggling Giants (2-4).
After scoring eleven runs on Opening Day in a game that saw them knock out Paul Skenes in the first inning, the Mets’ lineup has been terrible. Even with the double-digit run total in their first game factored in, they’ve averaged 3.83 runs per game, which has them tied
with the Phillies and Dodgers for the seventh-worst rate in Major League Baseball.
That lineup has been incredibly top-heavy, as Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto are two of the four qualified Mets hitters who’ve been above league average by wRC+ thus far. Luis Robert Jr. leads the way at 177, Soto follows closely at 170, Lindor’s at 121, and Jorge Polanco is at 115. The other four qualified hitters—Carson Benge, Brett Baty, Marcus Semien, and Bo Bichette—are far below 100.
On the upside, the Mets have excelled at run prevention, as they’ve given up just 3.33 runs per game. That’s the sixth-best rate in baseball, and Mets pitchers have been the third-best in the sport with a collective 2.50 ERA.
The Giants, meanwhile, have the worst offense in baseball in the early going, as they’ve averaged just 2.33 runs per game. Among their qualified hitters, Luis Arraez has been the least-bad hitter on the team with a 92 wRC+. Everyone else—including Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, and Rafael Devers—has been worse.
Old friend Harrison Bader, who had one of the best years of his career in 2025 with the Twins and Phillies, is now a Giant, having signed a two-year, $20.5 million deal over the offseason. He’s hit just .182/.217/.364 with a 67 wRC+ in his first 23 plate appearances with San Francisco.
As for run prevention, the Giants have given up 4.17 runs per game, the 12th-lowest mark in the sport. The team might be feeling a bit better coming into this series, as they’re coming off a road series in San Diego that saw them take two of three from the rival Padres.
What these teams will do against each other is anyone’s guess. The Mets haven’t had the best of times when visiting San Francisco in recent years, and their travel schedule is downright absurd. Having flown to the west coast without an off day to start this series, they’ll be doing the same eleven days from now when they travel from Queens to Los Angeles without an off day.
Thursday, April 2: David Peterson vs. Robbie Ray, 9:45 PM EDT on SNY
Peterson (2026): 5.1 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 6 ERA-
Peterson’s season debut went well, especially after the way he struggled in the second half last year. There’s nothing super flashy about him when he’s pitching well, but preventing runs by getting just enough strikeouts, inducing ground balls, and limiting home runs is not a bad way to succeed in modern baseball—even if it’s not the most exhilarating thing to watch as a fan.
Ray (2026): 5.1 IP, 4 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 3.38 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 90 ERA-
After a couple of injury-riddle seasons in 2023 and 2024, Ray had his best season in quite some time as he threw 182.1 innings for the Giants last year, his second season with the team after signing a five-year, $115 million deal ahead of the ‘24 season. He had a solid 3.65 ERA with a 3.93 FIP in 2025, and his first start of the season looks right in line with the lefty’s work from last year.
Friday, April 3: Nolan McLean vs. Tyler Mahle, 10:15 PM EDT on WPIX
McLean (2026): 5 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 3.60 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 97 ERA-
If you were hoping to see McLean pick up where he left off at the end of the 2025 season, you might’ve been slightly disappointed in his first outing of the year. But he still did plenty well in the start on a fairly cold day at Citi Field, and he should only get better from there.
Mahle (2026): 4.0 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 4.50 ERA, 1.45 FIP, 120 ERA-
Having spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Rangers, Mahle signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Giants in January. He’s only thrown 125.0 innings total over the past three years, and the Giants will be hoping to keep him healthier than he had been before signing with them.
Saturday, April 4: Clay Holmes vs. Landen Roupp, 9:05 PM EDT on SNY
Holmes (2026): 5.2 IP, 5 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 3.18 ERA, 5.32 FIP, 86 ERA-
It wasn’t his best work as a starter, but Holmes nearly got through six innings in his season debut. As effective as he was last year when looking at his rate stats, his inability to average five or more innings down the stretch wasn’t ideal given the context of the rest of the Mets’ rotation. The rotation is much stronger right now than it was then, but seeing Holmes sit in the six-ish-inning vicinity would be a fantastic step forward after a solid transition to starting last year.
Roupp (2026): 6.0 IP, 7 K, 2 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA, 1.86 FIP, 0 ERA-
Sometimes it’s easy to miss lesser-known players who play on the west coast, especially when they’re playing for a team that didn’t make the playoffs. The 27-year-old right-handed pitcher threw 50.1 innings for the Giants in 2024, mostly out of the bullpen. But he worked exclusively as a starter and made 22 starts for them last year, finishing the season with a 3.80 ERA and a 3.91 FIP.
Sunday, April 5: Kodai Senga vs. Logan Webb, 4:05 PM EDT on SNY
Senga (2026): 6.0 IP, 9 K, 3 BB, 0 HR, 3.00 ERA, 1.70 FIP, 81 ERA-
Considering how poorly the past two years went for Senga, you really couldn’t have asked for more in his 2026 debut. He wasn’t at his sharpest, but he was throwing hard, racked up strikeouts, and went six innings without doing much of anything to make you doubt that he could stay in the game. Here’s to more starts like that one or some that are even better.
Webb (2026): 11 IP, 12 K, 5 BB, 0 HR, 7.36 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 210 ERA-
Having received Cy Young votes in each of the past four seasons, Webb’s first couple of starts this year haven’t looked much like that pitcher, at least in terms of in his ERA. The underlying metrics suggest he’s been much better than that number suggests, and his start against the Padres was a quality start exactly by definition.
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