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The New York Mets are preparing for a weekend series against their NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies. But before first pitch is thrown, the Mets decided to shake up their pitching rotation a bit.
Max Scherzer will now start on Saturday while Carlos Carrasco goes on Sunday, via Tim Healey of Newsday. Buck Showalter wanted to split up Scherzer and Justin Verlander's starts. With Verlander set to take the mound on Monday, there will now be a day of separation between both aces.
Whether he's starting Saturday, Sunday or any day of the week, the Mets need Scherzer to be at the top of his game. There have been times of both good and bath throughout the 2023 season as evident by Scherzer's 4.04 ERA. However, his last start showed plenty of promise. In a win against the Houston Astros, Scherzer threw eight innings of one-run baseball, striking out eight in the process.
However, the Mets know that Scherzer can't be the only success part of their rotation. With their 34-40 record, New York has slipped to fourth in the NL East and sit 14 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves. Buck Showalter knew something needed to change if the Mets wanted to see results.
For now, that change is splitting up Max Scherzer and Verlander in the rotation. Opposing lineups will now have to face the Mets' aces on every other day during their turn in the rotation, back-to-back. The Mets will go into their Phillies series with this plan and place and hope it results in long-term success.
