The Cubs have hung in there over their first 38 games, with a 22-16 record while playing only one team \u2014 the Pirates \u2014 that is currently under .500. (Yes, even the A\u2019s, who the Cubs swept, are 20-18 and only two games out of first place in the AL West.)<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve got one more good team to face, the Mets this weekend, before the schedule eases up a bit.<\/p>\n
For more on the Mets, here\u2019s Chris McShane, managing editor of our SB Nation Mets site Amazin\u2019 Avenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Mets are off to a 24-14 start, leading the National League East, and \u2014 at the time of this writing \u2014 tied for the fourth-best record in baseball. For much of April, they were owners of the best record in the sport, but they\u2019ve gone 5-5 over their past ten games to cool off just a bit.<\/p>\n This series will be an interesting one even from the perspective of a neutral observer. While the Mets\u2019 offense has been solid despite its frustrating tendency to be inconsistent, the team\u2019s pitching staff and defense have truly excelled. The Mets have given up just 3.21 runs per game, just a shade behind the Padres and their 3.17 runs allowed per game for the lowest rate in baseball. And as you surely already know, the Cubs\u2019 offense leads baseball with 5.87 runs scored per game.<\/p>\n The Cubs will miss Kodai Senga, who leads Mets pitchers in ERA and pitched the series finale in Arizona, but the three pitchers they\u2019ll see have all been very good so far this season. The starting pitcher experiment with Clay Holmes (2.95 ERA) has gone well thus far, and Tylor Megill (2.50 ERA) and Griffin Canning (2.50 ERA) are in the upper tier of starting pitchers by ERA this season. If there\u2019s cause for concern on the pitching side of things, it\u2019s that the Mets\u2019 bullpen hasn\u2019t been quite as effective over the past two weeks as it was to start the season. And A.J. Minter and Danny Young, the team\u2019s best and second-best left-handed relievers, are out for the season with injuries that require surgery.<\/p>\n But what might impress me most about the Mets right now is that they\u2019re sitting in this position with a very good record despite the fact that Juan Soto hasn\u2019t really gotten going yet. The bar he\u2019s set for himself is incredibly high, and a two-home run game in the series finale in Arizona brought him up to a 143 wRC+. When he inevitably goes on a tear, it\u2019s going to be fun to watch, and the way Francisco Lindor and especially Pete Alonso are hitting this year, that trio should be one of the best in baseball atop the Mets\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n Fun facts<\/p>\n The Cubs are three wins shy of 400 against the Mets since the rivalry began in 1962. Their 397 wins are by far the Cubs\u2019 most against any expansion team. They have won 337 vs. the Astros, who began play the same year as the Mets but moved to the American League after 2012. The Cubs have lost 375 games to the Mets and tied two, for a total of 774 games. The difference between the teams in runs scored? One, with Mets leading, 3,334 to 3,333.<\/p>\n At home, the Cubs are 212-179 vs. the Mets, compared to 185-196 on the road. They were 146-165-1 at Shea Stadium but are 28-23 at Citi Field, which opened in 2008. They are 26-17 there since 2011, including a four-game sweep in 2018 and three-game sweeps in 2015, 2019 and 2022. They were 1-2 in 2023 and 2-2 last year.<\/p>\n (Courtesy BCB\u2019s JohnW53)<\/p>\n Probable pitching matchups<\/p>\n Friday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.034 WHIP, 4.10 FIP) vs. Clay Holmes, RHP (4-1, 2.95 ERA, 1.282 WHIP, 2.19 FIP)<\/p>\n Saturday: Cade Horton, RHP (MLB debut) vs. Tylor Megill, RHP (3-2, 2.50 ERA, 1.167 WHIP, 2.81 FIP)<\/p>\n Sunday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (3-2, 2.75 ERA, 1.347 WHIP, 3.75 FIP) vs. Griffin Canning, RHP (1-1, 2.50 ERA, 1.389 WHIP, 3.37 FIP)<\/p>\n Times & TV channels<\/p>\n Friday: 6:10 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Mets market territories)<\/p>\n Saturday: 6:15 p.m. CT, Fox-TV (regional \u2014 coverage map<\/a>)<\/p>\n