NEW YORK — As the Mets’ 2026 season slips by the wayside, interim manager Andy Green has the difficult task of keeping his club disciplined in the wake of jarring underperformance.
That task got even more difficult on Saturday as Juan Soto was placed on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 left calf strain.
The Mets will move forward without Soto for the immediate future beginning with Saturday’s contest with the Dodgers at 7:10 p.m. at Citi Field.
“There’s really no other thing to do but show up with the expectation to win, regardless of who’s in the other dugout and regardless of who’s not in your lineup,” Green said. “The more you spend your time fixated on things you don’t have, the worse your existence is going to be as an athlete.”
The Mets can feel a little bit more optimistic heading into Saturday night’s matchup with Nolan McLean on the mound. The 25-year-old right-hander has been the team’s most dependable starter of late, with four straight quality outings including last time out when he struck out 10 and held the Phillies scoreless across six innings.
That victory helped McLean improve to 7-6 while chiseling his ERA to 3.34. He now has 135 strikeouts in 113⅓ innings.
The Mets offense has an equally difficult task in front of them as Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the ball for the Dodgers. The 27-year-old right-hander is 10-6 with a 2.78 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 119⅔ innings.
McLean and Yamamoto had an epic duel back in April. The Mets starter allowed one earned run over seven innings, while Yamamoto allowed one earned run in 7⅔ innings. Both settled for a no-decision as the Dodgers grabbed a 2-1 victory behind Kyle Tucker’s eighth-inning RBI single.
Check back for more updates and analysis as the Mets and Dodgers play the second game of their series on Saturday night:
What time is NY Mets vs Dodgers game today?
Time: 7:15 p.m.
What channel is NY Mets vs Dodgers today?
TV: FOX
How to stream NY Mets vs Dodgers game today
Streaming: MLB.TV
NY Mets, Dodgers starting pitchers today
Mets: Nolan McLean (7-6, 3.34 ERA)
Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6, 2.78)
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets vs Dodgers live updates, score and analysis of Saturday game
