New York Mets set to host red-hot Angels in pivotal series at Citi Field

With an awful road-trip concluded, the New York Mets will be back home to start a series against the Los Angles Angels.

After a disastrous road trip in which the New York Mets lost all of their games for the first time in years, the Amazin’s look to end their skid against Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a weekend series from Friday to Sunday.

The Mets have barely played 40 games this season, yet these next three games feel like must-win scenarios for a team that has struggled to put together wins since Matt Harvey’s three-game suspension.

The Mets come into Friday 8.5 games back of the Washington Nationals with a record of 16-23, and are 8-12 at Citi Field this season. They’re 2-8 in their last 10 games after getting to .500 a few weeks back, and their pitching has failed to keep leads for what has been a surprisingly good offense in that span.

The Angels come into the series eight games back of a surging Houston Astros team that as of now is the clear-cut best team in baseball. They’re 22-21 on the season with a 7-13 record on the road, which bodes well for a Mets team hasn’t played well at home so far. The Halos are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and they have arguably the best player in all of baseball to thank for that.

Mike Trout has been on a tear as of late and is already a way-too-early MVP candidate, smacking 13 home runs and 45 hits and 30 RBIs for a .341 average. Trout’s 13 home runs are second only to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees’ 14 in the American League, while his 45 hits are good for 10th and his 30 RBIs good for third behind teammate Albert Pujols’ 32. The Angels have won four in a row thanks to Trout and is efforts, and the fact that they’re on a hot streak right now has to concern Met fans.

The one saving grace for Met fans is that Jacob DeGrom will get the ball tonight, although with a record of 2-2 and an ERA of over four, he’s just as unpredictable as Matt Harvey. DeGrom hasn’t recorded an out in the seventh inning since April, and one inning of 25 or more pitches would be all it takes to ensure he doesn’t make it past five or six innings.

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Ricky Nolasco will be on the hill for the Angels in the first game, and the Mets have a chance to hit him hard. He comes in with a 2-2 record and a 4.34 ERA, and has given up multiple home runs if five of his last six starts and allows the third-hardest hits at an average velocity of 90.2 mph than anyone in baseball.

In short, this is a big series for the Mets, who can’t afford to keep falling behind in their division. Getting to .500 is still realistic, but losing two out of three to a red-hot Angels team will make that much harder to do, even with a healthy Yoenis Cespedes. Their offense should score plenty of runs tonight and all weekend against a mediocre Angels pitching staff, but it will be up to what was supposed to be their strongest point as a team to keep the bats of Trout and Pujols at bay.

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This is a pivotal series for the New York Mets, and another sweep or a series defeat could put a premature end to what was supposed to be a promising season and a fun summer in Queens.

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