Final Home-Stand of Regular Season Begins as Twins Visit Citi Field

Seth Lugo. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

The New York Mets (77-69) open up their final home-stand of the season tonight at Citi Field against the Minnesota Twins (55-92). Here is the series information.

Friday: Bartolo Colon (13-7) vs Jose Berrios (2-6) – 7:10 p.m.
Saturday: Seth Lugo (4-2) vs Ervin Santana (7-10) – 7:10 p.m.
Sunday: TBD vs Kyle Gibson (6-9) – 1:10 p.m.

The Mets enter the series one game behind the San Francisco Giants for the first Wild Card spot and one game in front of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second spot. The Twins on the other hand enter the series mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

The ageless wonder in Bartolo Colon gets the start tonight seeking his 14th win of the season. Colon got a loss his last time out in Atlanta giving up three earned runs in six innings. That loss snapped a four-start winning streak that Colon was riding. It seems as if the 43-year-old pitcher gets better as he gets older.

Saturday will see Seth Lugo make his sixth big league start. Lugo has won his last four starts and has allowed just five earned runs in those starts. Lugo has done a great job filling in for Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz.

Speaking of deGrom and Matz, when are they coming back? It seems as if the answer is sooner rather than later. After Rafael Montero was rocked by the Nationals in his last start, it’s hard to imagine that Terry Collins will give him another start down the stretch. His spot in the rotation is on Sunday against the Twins. deGrom or Matz probably will not be the starter for that Sunday game, however there is a chance they could come out of the bullpen which is a good sign. A potential starter for that game is Gabriel Ynoa who came in relief for Montero in his start against Washington.

The Mets have just 16 games remaining and every single one is crucial since they are neck and neck with Cardinals and Giants for the two Wild Card spots. After the Twins, the Mets will play three with the Braves and four with the Phillies all at home. They then head to Miami for a three game set and finally three more with Philadelphia on the road. That schedule is a cake walk through a spring meadow. There is no excuse for this team to not make the postseason despite all of the injuries.

The Giants and Cardinals opened up a four-game series last night with the Giants winning 6-2. This series is crucial for both team’s postseason hopes. The Giants also have to play the Dodgers six more times. The Cardinals also have three games remaining with the Chicago Cubs who clinched the NL Central crown with Cardinals loss last night.

The final few weeks is laid out for the Mets. So far, they have beaten all of the teams and won all of the series that they are supposed to. Those winning ways must continue in their final five series.