The New York Mets are set to play the San Diego Padres for the Wild Card series over the weekend.
The matchup will be played in New York, with the Mets holding home-field advantage by virtue of their better record and seed.
Max Scherzer will start Game 1 on Friday.
The starter of the second game is apparently still up in the air, and will likely depend on Game 1.
The team is reportedly contemplating a strategy to not use Jacob deGrom at all in the Wild Card round.
Logic indicates that deGrom would follow Scherzer in Game 2, but that may not be the case if the Mets win Game 1.
If New York wins Game 1 and doesn’t face elimination, they would use Chris Bassitt in Game 2 on Saturday to try and sweep the best-of-three series.
If the Mets win Game 1 with Max Scherzer on the hill, should they save Jacob deGrom?#MLBCentral | @markdero7 | @LaurenShehadi | @RoFlo | @Feinsand pic.twitter.com/VXk9YssvDu
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 6, 2022
Can The Mets Save deGrom For The Dodgers?
If, on the other hand, the Mets lose the first game, they will likely use deGrom on Saturday to try and avoid elimination.
If the Mets win the opener but lose the second game, they would use deGrom on Sunday in a winner-take-all game.
This is done to try and line up deGrom for Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, thus maximizing the Mets’ chances on that pivotal (and still hypothetical) matchup.
Getting deGrom to start Game 1 against the Dodgers would also line him up for Game 5, while also having Scherzer around for two starts against LA if needed.
It’s a sound strategy, at least in theory, but they should never underestimate the Padres.
They are a talented team and could easily ruin their plans.
This particular series has the potential to be very, very exciting.
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