Here are three things to keep an eye on around baseball this weekend…
1. Trout chasing 400:
Mike Trout belted the 399th home run of his illustrious career last night, placing him just one round-tripper shy of becoming the 59th plate in MLB history to reach the 400 milestone. Trout, currently in a three-way tie with Andres Galarraga and Al Kaline on the all-time leaderboard, is hitting .235/.368/.426 (119 wRC+) and has already secured the tenth 20-homer season of his career (plus 17 homers during the shortened 2020 season). He’ll square off against Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo and George Kirby this weekend as he looks to add another accolade to what’s already a surefire Cooperstown résumé.
2. Senga on the mound for Syracuse:
The Mets optioned Kodai Senga to Triple-A Syracuse last week upon calling up top prospect Brandon Sproat, hoping to get the former Cy Young runner-up back on track. Senga posted a 6.56 ERA over eight starts after returning from a monthlong IL stint due to a hamstring strain. His season ERA still sits at 3.02, but his mounting struggles at a time when the Mets are fighting for their postseason life became too severe for the team to ignore. Senga will make the first of what’ll be multiple Triple-A starts (barring an injury in the big league rotation) later today when he takes on the Red Sox’ Worcester affiliate in a game slated to begin at 6:35pm ET. Home runs (2.02 HR/9) and walks (12.9%) have been particularly problematic for Senga during this poor stretch, so it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on how the right-hander commands the ball during what the Mets hope will be a swift Triple-A reset.
3. Key Wild Card series abound:
The Mets have lost six in a row, shrinking their Wild Card lead to a mere 1.5 games over both the Giants and Reds. Things won’t get easier for the Mets, as they’ll be tasked with stopping their September swoon in a matchup with old friend Jacob deGrom, who’s pitched to a resurgent 2.78 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate in 155 2/3 innings this year. The Rangers are in Queens for a three-game set that also has major implications in the AL Wild Card hunt as well; Texas sits just two games back of an also-reeling Astros club that is now tied with the Mariners for first place in the AL West.
Elsewhere in the NL Wild Card scramble, the Giants have a tough task keeping their hopes alive, as they’ll host the Dodgers for a three-game set pitting them against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw…
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