The last two weeks have been a boon for the Mets.
The Mets are coming off their third series victory in their last four sets after taking three out of four from the Cardinals in St. Louis last weekend. The Mets have won six of their last eight games to move back to 58-67 and seven games out of the NL Wild Card picture.
The lone hiccup over the last two weeks came at the hands of the Braves, who came into Citi Field and won the first three out of four from the Mets while outscoring them 34-3 over those results.
The Mets will be looking to perform a little bit better against the top team in Major League Baseball this week as they travel to Atlanta for a three-game series to begin the week.
Here is what the Mets have to look forward to this week:
The majority of Francisco Lindor’s 2023 season has been an enigma.
While Lindor’s flashes of power remained, a .221 batting average at the midway point of the season was well below his career .275 mark.
But in the month of August, Lindor has shown the form that the Mets were hoping from their long-term shortsop in the middle of their lineup. Saturday night’s performance against the Cardinals was one of the highs for Lindor as he finished 4-fof-5 with a double, three runs, an RBI and stealing home.
In the month of August entering Sunday’s game, Lindor is 23-of-66 (.346) with one home run, five doubles, 14 runs and 10 RBI. He’s raised his average from .236 to .252 during the month. Lindor was an offensive catalyst during the team’s last trip to Truist Park in early June when he went 5-for-13 with two home runs, three RBI and four runs.
Mets injury news, updates
Starling Marte moved past the minimum stint on the 10-day injured list without much forward movement after he was placed on the shelf with a right groin strain on Aug. 7.
“He’s progressing slowly but surely,” Buck Showalter told reporters on Sunday. “I know that he’s supposed to get looked at on Monday again by the doctors to see where we are with it.”
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Marte received an injection on Aug. 8 and had been dealing with some soreness. The Mets outfielder had double groin surgery in the offseason and expects to go through a rehab assignment before returning to the Mets.
Mark Vientos is expected to have a minimum stay on the injured list after he was moved there on Aug. 16 as he deals with left wrist tendinitis.
The first major league season for Josh Walker has likely come to an end following a left oblique strain. The relief pitcher was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 17. The left-hander allowed nine earned runs over 10 innings with 12 strikeouts and one hold.
Mets at Braves: TV info, times and probable pitchers
Monday, 7:20 p.m., SNY: David Peterson (3-7, 5.45) vs. TBD
Tuesday, 7:20 p.m., SNY: Tylor Megill (7-6, 5.53) vs. Bryce Elder (9-4, 3.46)
Wednesday, 7:20 p.m., SNY: Jose Quintana (1-4, 3.03) vs. Charlie Morton (12-10, 3.54)
Outlook: After a month as an effective arm as a reliever, David Peterson is stretched back out as a starter as he threw 91 pitches in his last outing against the Pirates. The only problem is that the 27-year-old left-hander only made it through 3⅔ innings as he walked a season-high six batters and allowed three hits.
Peterson has not worked more than 3⅔ innings in his three starts since his return to the rotation.
Tylor Megill dealt with similar command issues in his latest start against the Pirates. Megill was able to work around four walks and secured his seventh win with one earned run allowed over five innings with five strikeouts.
Jose Quintana has arguably been the Mets’ most dependable starter over the last few weeks. The veteran left-hander earned his first win by holding the Cardinals to two earned runs on three hits and four walks over six innings with five strikeouts. Quintana has notched five straight quality starts.
Shohei Ohtani;s debut at Citi Field might only showcase one of his heralded talents.
The two-way superstar has not pitched since Aug. 9 as he dealt with arm fatigue. Angels manager Phil Nevin appears to have penciled Ohtani’s return to the mound for Wednesday against the Reds which would cancel out the superstar’s chances of pitching against the Mets.
The 29-year-old will still look to make his mark at the plate, where he is leads MLB with a 1.071 OPS and is tied for the major-league lead with 43 home runs, to go along with 89 RBI and 96 runs.
The Mets’ only series with the Angels since Ohtani debuted in 2018 came last season. In two games against the Mets in 202, Ohtani was 4-for-8 with one home run, three runs and three RBI.
Ohtani is set to become the highest-paid player in MLB history when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2023 season.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Series at Braves, Shohei Ohtani debut at Citi Field