I am sure tonight’s first pitch will be less eventful than last night’s first pitch. However, it will be interesting to see if Matz can establish the inside half of the plate early. It will be important for Matz to make the Royals hitters uncomfortable early and often. With this being Matz’s ninth career start, the Royals do not have much tape to review. This will be a huge advantage for Matz against these gritty Royals hitters. He will have the luxury of the Royals reading him the first time through the lineup. This will give him a chance to use all of his pitches.
Chris Young pitched well in game one, but it gave the Mets a chance to see him. The deception of Chris Young is the strongest aspect of his game. If the Mets can get to him early, the runs will come in bunches. The game will most likely be decided by the bullpens. This has been the strength of the Royals, but the Mets have been able to chip away at the Royals bullpen.
David Wright cannot be expected to repeat his performance from last night, but neither can Daniel Murphy. Murphy went hitless in game three, but will be expected to produce once again. It appeared that Cespedes’s swing started to come around in his last two at bats. It would be a huge boost to this Mets offense if Cespedes can start to produce in the clean up spot. This may be Conforto’s last chance to make the starting lineup. Conforto has struggled lately, but will be a good match up against Chris Young. Conforto will need to use all fields with the softer throwing Young on the mound.
If the Mets can hold the lead once the relievers enter the game, they will have a better chance to win the game. The Mets bullpen should be in gear having pitched one inning each last night from the seventh inning onto the ninth. I expect tonight to be another game of scoring, but once things settle down, the middle relievers will have the decision in game four.
