The Mets are proud to announce Joey Lucchesi is set to make his eighth start and 11th appearance of the season tonight…He has put up a 1.56 ERA (three earned runs/17.1 innings) over his last four starts, allowing four walks and striking out 19 in that span since May 22…His 1.56 ERA in that span is tied for 10th in the majors and seventh in the NL…He has made two starts this month and is 0-1 with a 1.86 ERA (tow earned runs/9.2 innings) with a walk and nine strikeouts.
STAY CHURVY: Lucchesi’s signature churve has been effective during his 10 appearances, generating a whiff rate of 37.0 percent…He has only allowed eight hits off the pitch in 43 plate appearances ending with the pitch, with batters generating a .186 BAA…He has struck out 17 batters with the pitch, tossing it 36.9 percent of the time…It has averaged 78.6 mph and is hit hard only 33.3 percent of the time.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE JOEY: When coming out of the pen this year, Lucchesi owns a 5.14 ERA (four earned runs/7.1 innings)…Opponents have hit .231 when facing him in relief and he has totaled eight punch outs and allowed six hits in three games…As a starter, he has totaled 26.0 innings with a 5.19 ERA (15 earned runs/26.0 innings), a .255 BAA and 28 strikeouts…He is currently ranked fifth in total innings for the Mets (33.0 IP).
HAPPY CHURVE DAY: Lucchesi gained fame for a pitch he calls a “churve”… He holds it deep in his palm like a classic circle changeup, and for most of his college career, that’s all it was – a basic changeup…Early in his pro career, he began tinkering with his wrist action as he threw it, snapping off the pitch like a breaking ball…It soon became his go-to putaway weapon…The pitch generated a 47.3 percent whiff rate in 2020 and a whiff rate of at least 41.4 percent in all four of his big league seasons.
Make sure you wear you Churve Symbol Gear so everyone knows which side you’re on! Represent.
OF Michael Conforto is on a rehab assignment with the Syracuse Mets (AAA)…He went 0-4 with two strikeouts and played 5.0 innings in right field…Overall, he is 1-7 with a run…He has been on the 10-day IL since May 17 with a strained right hamstring…INF Jeff McNeil is on a rehab assignment with the Syracuse Mets…He started at second base last night and went 1-4 with two strikeouts…He has appeared in four games between Brooklyn and Syracuse and is 4-12 with two run, a double and an RBI…McNeil has been on the IL since May 17 with a strained left hamstring…RHP Dellin Betances is currently on a rehab appearance with the St. Lucie Mets (A)…He has appeared in two games, allowing five earned runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 1.1 innings…He has been on the 60-Day IL since April 24 with a right shoulder impingement…OF Albert Almora Jr. is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse…He is 6-26 with three runs, two doubles, a home run, three walks and two RBI in eight games on his rehab assignment…Almora Jr. has been on the 10-Day IL since May 12 with a left shoulder contusion.
Dominic Smith is 4-11 with four runs, a double, two home runs, three RBI, three walks, a .533 OBP, a .1.000 SLG and a 1.533 OPS over his last four games…He owns an .856 OPS in 15 games this month.
Pete Alonso sometimes hits home runs on the road. That’s not true at home, where he has hit home run, singular. Fortunately for Pete he’s out of Citi Field.
As of 5:08pm I don’t believe the Mets have acknowledged Juneteenth. Hopefully I am wrong.
