Mets Look to Rebound Against Cubs Following Tough Series Setback
The New York Mets (34-43) will host the Chicago Cubs (40-37) for a four-game series at Citi Field this week. There was a lot of talk during the last week in games against the Braves and Phillies that if the Mets really wanted to make a run at the postseason, they needed to beat the teams ahead of them in the standings. Well, so do the Wild Card standings, in which the Cubs now occupy a slot.
The last two weeks of the Mets season has been a perfect sample size of just how frustrating 2026 has been to date. The Mets lost two of three to the last place Reds after claiming two of three from one of the finest teams in baseball, the Braves. Then they finally beat the Phillies for the first time all year and lose the following two games. And every hope is dashed on the rock of disappointment.
The Mets didn’t have to make it so easy for the Phillies to just steamroll them in those games, facing Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler in an always uphill battle. In what has hardly been an illustrious opening to his Mets career, Freddy Peralta suffered his worst start as a Met, getting his tits torched by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on way to a 15-3 loss. Ten earned runs in two and two-thirds innings tells it all, doesn’t it?
David Peterson didn’t pitch that badly in his Sunday start, but he’s lost the ability to seem overpowering, crafty or generally effective. In Peterson’s defense, he did get a tad bit of weak defense behind him but Peterson’s stuff has looked flat all season.
The poor performance of these two starts is a dreadful development for the Mets for a lot of reasons, but mostly because their alternatives for replacements are so slim. Not that Peralta or likely Peterson won’t be pitching for the club but there are a number of question marks with their current starting five. Sean Manaea has been much better lately, and certainly deserved more faith than I’m giving him, but his start to the season was both so odd and so unsuccessful. Kodai Senga looked terrible in his first start following his rehab assignment. Tobias Myers just called up from the IL, but had a [looks up technical phrase] dogshit start.
Christian Scott is coming back which is a very positive thing, but other than him, everyone else on the farm needs additional seasoning. Jonah Tong would be nice to see look ready, but a 6.30 ERA in Triple-A suggests otherwise. Jack Wenninger is looking better in Syracuse but he is still not really pounding on the door just yet.
The good news, if not this series, is that Francisco Lindor is slated to return with the Mets over the weekend. This will assist both sides of the ball and also leadership and vibes, but for now this team’s concern is their beginning pitching.
The Cubs are three games over .500 and third in the National League Central. They are 6-3 over their last three series and now holding onto a Wild Card berth after a disastrous start to their June. Former Mets farmhand Pete Crow-Armstrong, traded for Javier Baez at the 2021 trade deadline, is enjoying an incredible season. Already 4.6 bWAR. He and Ian Happ each have 16 home runs on the season. Seiya Suzuki is also having a tremendous year, with all three players above putting up OPS+s of 127 or better.
All Betting Predictions & Picks 6-23-2026
All Sports Predictions
Visit the Betting School and learn how to wager on the moneyline, spread, and total; on your favorite team or an undervalued underdog. Sign up with YouWager.lv now and get in the game with the best welcome bonus, click below:
