Mets' Sean Manaea to make start in season finale with playoff berth at stake
Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea delivers against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Sept. 21. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
MIAMI — The ball will go to Sean Manaea.
The Mets on Sunday will attempt to clinch a playoff berth on the final day of the season, and the starter will be the man who last year emerged as an improbable ace but this year has struggled to find success. He’ll be pitching after having been used in relief Wednesday, and having started the previous Sunday, but he won’t be alone.
“It’s all hands on deck for tomorrow,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the Mets’ 5-0 win over the Marlins on Saturday, though at that point, he still didn’t know for sure if Manaea would be the call.
The lefty is 2-4 with a 5.80 ERA after coming back from an oblique injury that caused him to miss a large chunk of the season.
Mendoza said only Nolan McLean won't be available, though it stands to reason that Brandon Sproat, who started Friday, also is off the table.
The Mets (83-78) and Reds (83-78) are tied entering the final day of the season, and Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker. If the Mets lose Sunday, their season is over regardless of what the Reds do. Even if the Mets win, if the Reds also win, the Mets will not reach the postseason.
“You feel good” winning Saturday, Mendoza said. “It’s not ideal, right? But we put ourselves in this position. But you’re going to 162 with a chance to clinch a playoff spot.”
Baty placed on IL
The wince when he swung, the grimace when he threw: Anyone who watched Brett Baty’s first inning Friday knew that something was very wrong. On Saturday, that was confirmed, and Jared Young was recalled.
Baty was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained right oblique before the Mets took on the Marlins. He’ll get an MRI Sunday.
“It hurts a lot,” Baty said of the injury — a notoriously tricky one that can sideline athletes from weeks to months. “I got here, got hot and went to the cage and took the high-velo machine and then tried to simulate an at-bat — like sit down a little bit and take more swings off the high-velo machine — and that’s when I felt it a lot.”
It’s a tough code for a renaissance season for the infielder. Once a top prospect, he was shuttled to and from the minors before finally firmly establishing himself as an everyday player this year. After batting .226 in the first half of the season — a span of 75 games — Baty slashed .291/.353/.477 and became much more effective against lefthanded pitchers, hitting .247 against them this year. He amassed career highs in homers (18) and RBIs (50) and played solid defense at his natural position of third base as well as second.
“There were a lot of adjustments in his preparation, his routine,” Mendoza said. “He started challenging himself pregame, whether it was doing more velo machine and things like that, simulating at-bats before games and then just going out there and executing game plans. He started getting comfortable and confident and became a pretty good everyday player for us.”
Ross called up
The Mets on Saturday called up highly touted prospect Dylan Ross to beef up the bullpen.
Ross, a flamethrowing 6-5 righty, pitched to a 1.69 ERA in 32 innings after being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse this year; the 25-year-old, whose career was waylaid by Tommy John surgery in 2022, shot up the ranks since signing with the organization last year and began this season with High-A Brooklyn.
Ross, whose fastball ticks up to 102 mph, also features a plus splitter. He hadn’t allowed an earned run in his last 11 appearances with Syracuse and two hits in 15 1⁄3 innings pitched.
He has issues with control — he walked 11 batters in that span — but also strikes out batters a ton, a rate of 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings over 49 minor-league appearances this year.
“I’ve just taken it day-to-day,” Ross said. “I think through rehab with two surgeries, you kind of have to adopt that mindset . . . where once you get into a routine of good outings, [if you get a bad one], you have to learn to wash some and pick it back up the next day. I think the rehab and the group we had up there really helped me establish that mindset.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
