New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza isn’t letting the end of a seven-game winning streak spoil the newfound confidence he has in his team.
After losing for the first time in over a week, New York will try to get right back in the saddle on Friday afternoon when it opens a three-game series with the host Chicago Cubs.
The Mets fell 4-2 to the Miami Marlins on June 11 before catching fire, outscoring opponents 52-22 over the course of their winning streak.
It looked like New York was headed for an eighth straight win when it took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth on Wednesday, but the Texas Rangers rallied for a 5-3 victory to finally cool off the Mets.
Still, Mendoza is convinced that New York is in a good spot moving forward.
“After what we’ve been through, especially the month of May (when the Mets went 9-19), and then for us to play good baseball, it shows that we’ve got a good team,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got guys that are going to continue to compete.”
However, one of the best pitchers in the majors now stands between New York and the start of a new winning streak.
Left-hander Shota Imanaga (7-1, 1.89 ERA) will get the start for Chicago on Friday after working seven innings of one-run ball to pick up a win against the St. Louis Cardinals last Saturday. Imanaga allowed four hits in that outing.
Friday marks Imanaga’s second start of the season — and his career — against the Mets. He earned a victory against them on May 1, giving up three hits across seven scoreless innings.
New York is set to counter with fellow southpaw Jose Quintana (2-5, 4.98), who was with the Cubs from 2017-20.
In his most recent outing, Quintana yielded just two hits and one run in six innings to beat the San Diego Padres last Saturday. He is 0-4 with a 3.17 ERA in eight career starts vs. Chicago.
Quintana could be the first Cubs pitcher to break in catcher Tomas Nido, who signed with Chicago on Wednesday. Nido, 30, was released by the Mets on Monday. He had been with them since 2017.
“I’m very excited to get to compete with these guys,” Nido said. “(I’ll be watching) a lot of videos, a lot of watching how they’ve pitched this year and their history. And just talking to (catcher Miguel) Amaya as well.
“It’s a special group of guys, good pitching, and I’m very excited to be able to handle that staff.”
The Cubs designated Yan Gomes for assignment to make room for Nido.
Chicago will be hoping that Nido can help it continue a two-game winning streak following Wednesday’s 6-5 win over San Francisco. The Cubs were up 6-1 before the Giants pulled within a run in the eighth, but Chicago managed to hang on.
New York hosted the Cubs for a four-game series bridging April and May, and the teams played to a split.