First pitch is 2:40 PM CT (12:40 PM PT) in Seattle, with George Kirby (5-4, 3.77) drawing Freddy Peralta (3-4, 3.55) in the rubber-ish finale of a series that has already gotten away from New York. Kirby's last time out was a no-decision against Arizona — 5.1 innings, 4 earned, 4 punchouts on 87 pitches. Peralta walked away with a ND of his own against Miami, gutting 4.2 innings, 2 earned, 5 K's on 94.
The temperature check on Kirby right now isn't pristine. Per Seattle Sports, he's coughed up 13 earned across his last 3 starts after a 6-start run where he was barely giving up 2 a night. So he's beatable. The problem is the lineup behind him is suddenly doing all of the heavy lifting — the Mariners have ripped off 7 straight, the last 2 over these same Mets by a combined 11-5.
New York landed in Seattle on a 3-game wave against the Marlins and has now been pushed underwater. Tuesday's 8-3 loss was the kind of game where the bullpen leaks and the offense never threatens — and Carlos Mendoza's group is doing all of this without Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Jorge Polanco, Kodai Senga, Tyrone Taylor, and Clay Holmes. That's an entire core in the trainer's room.
- Day-To-DayBrandon Waddell RP — Waddell (shoulder) picked up the win after allowing three runs on four hits while striking out two across three innings during Saturday's game against Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
- Day-To-DayAdbert Alzolay RP — The Mets reassigned Alzolay to minor-league camp Tuesday.
- Day-To-DayMike Tauchman RF — Tauchman (knee) is still rehabbing at the Mets' spring training complex and has yet to resume baseball activities, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
- Day-To-DayGrae Kessinger 3B — no
- Day-To-DayJoe Jacques RP — The Mets signed Jacques to a minor-league contract Wednesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayKevin Herget RP — Herget signed a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training with the Mets on Thursday, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
- Day-To-DayJose Rojas 3B — Triple-A Salt Lake placed Rojas on its COVID-19 injured list Sunday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
- 10-Day-ILFrancisco Alvarez C — Manager Carlos Mendoza indicated that Alvarez (knee) is scheduled to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, Andrew Tredinnick of The Bergen Record reports.
- Day-To-DayJosh Naylor 1B — Naylor (back) is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Mets.
- Day-To-DayTeddy McGraw SP — McGraw is working his way back from right elbow issues, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.
- 10-Day-ILCal Raleigh C — Raleigh (oblique) began taking swings in a batting cage Friday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports
- 10-Day-ILBrendan Donovan 3B — Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said Sunday that Donovan will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection for his strained left groin as well as his adductor and is expected to resume baseball activity in 2-to-3 weeks, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILWill Wilson 3B — The Mariners placed Wilson on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a fractured left thumb.
- 60-Day-ILMiles Mastrobuoni 3B — Mastrobuoni (calf) began a rehab assignment Monday with the Mariners' Arizona Complex League affiliate, going 0-for-2 with a 1:1 K:BB.
- 60-Day-ILLogan Evans SP — The Mariners placed Evans (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Monday.
- 60-Day-ILCarlos Vargas RP — Vargas (lat) has suffered a setback in his recovery, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Seattle's not totally clean either. Cal Raleigh is still working back from an oblique (just started cage swings late last week) and Josh Naylor sat Tuesday with back spasms after tweaking it on his game-tying homer Monday night. Dan Wilson is calling it day-to-day and not serious, but it's worth watching whether he's in the lineup for the day game.
Pinnacle has Seattle at -141 with the total sitting at 7.5 (under -130). That math tracks: the home team is the hottest in the AL, the road team is missing half its order, and Kirby has the better pedigree even if his stuff has slipped a touch. If the Mets are going to steal one and avoid the broom, they need Peralta to put up a 6-inning zero line and hope Naylor doesn't play. Both feel like asks.