Nothing about this Mets season has gone to script. New York is 21-28, the lineup is held together with duct tape, and they just got run 8-4 by Washington on Wednesday. Now they hand the ball to David Peterson (2-4, 5.40) and ask him to salvage a getaway day against a Nationals team that has scored at least 7 runs in 4 of its last 5.
The injured list reads like a depth chart. Francisco Lindor (calf) is still roughly a month away. Francisco Alvarez is 8 weeks out after meniscus surgery. Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes — all unavailable. Juan Soto is essentially carrying the offense by himself, and even he can't outslug a team that ranks top-5 in the league in OPS.
- 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-DayNick Burdi RP — The Red Sox reinstated Burdi (hip) from the injured list Saturday and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester.
- 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-ILJared Young 1B — Young (knee) will move his rehab assignment from Single-A St. Lucie to Triple-A Syracuse this week, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILFrancisco Lindor SS — The Mets "have hope" that Lindor (calf) will return to the active roster in about a month, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum DH — Baum has not pitched this year due an undisclosed injury.
- Day-To-DayTravis Sykora SP — Sykora will undergo a UCL reconstruction on his right elbow in two weeks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana RP — Susana underwent surgery last week to repair a right lat tear, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILClayton Beeter RP — Beeter (forearm) threw a scoreless inning for Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one.
- 15-Day-ILCole Henry RP — Henry (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester this weekend, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Kranick RP — The Nationals signed Kranick (elbow) to a one-year, $800,000 contract Tuesday and placed him on the 15-day injured list.
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz SP — Herz (elbow) will throw to live hitters Friday at the Nationals' spring training facility in Florida, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams SP — Williams (elbow) began pitching off a mound at the Nationals' spring training complex this weekend, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
Cade Cavalli (2-2, 4.05) gets the ball for Washington and he's been the version of himself the Nats drafted to be — 3 earned runs or fewer in 5 straight outings, with the home park playing in his favor. Peterson, meanwhile, has actually been steadier than his ERA suggests in recent turns, but the matchup against a Washington lineup that's currently 1st in MLB in runs scored is the kind of test that doesn't care about your last 5.
The market is split on what to do here. Pinnacle has the Mets as a small -110 favorite while DraftKings is sitting at -126, and the totals don't agree either — Pinnacle 8.5, DK 9.5. That's a real gap, and the EV column is negative across the board, which is the polite way of saying the books aren't giving you a freebie on this one.
Bottom line: if the Mets are going to climb out of this hole, days like this — road game, depleted roster, divisional opponent playing with confidence — are exactly the kind they have to start stealing. Peterson has to give them 5-plus and Soto probably has to do Soto things. Otherwise it's another long flight to Miami with the same questions waiting on the other end.