Mets at Royals
The New York Mets vaulted themselves into postseason contention by winning 21 of 26 contests but have stalled in their quest, losing four of their last five. New York attempts to get back on track when it visits the Kansas City Royals on Saturday for the middle contest of their three-game interleague series.
Michael Conforto delivered an RBI single and J.D. Davis went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 10 contests for the Mets, who are two games out of the second wild-card spot after falling 4-1 on Friday. Davis has raised his average from .295 to .311 during his run, which includes five multi-hit performances. Hunter Dozier continues to swing a hot bat for the Royals, who began their five-game homestand by being outscored 8-0 in a pair of losses to St. Louis. Dozier went 2-for-4 on Friday to stretch his hitting streak to five games and has posted five multi-hit efforts while hitting safely in nine of his last 10 contests.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (7-7, 2.68 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jakob Junis (8-10, 4.80)
DeGrom's unbeaten streak reached seven starts on Sunday as he settled for a no-decision against Washington after allowing three unearned runs and four hits in five innings. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has permitted fewer than three earned runs in each turn and worked seven frames five times during his streak but has recorded only three victories. DeGrom has yet to face the Royals in the regular season but yielded four runs on six hits and three walks over five innings in a loss at Kansas City during the 2015 World Series.
Junis ended July with back-to-back losses but has won both of his starts thus far this month, with the victories coming on the road. The 26-year-old native of Illinois worked six innings at both Boston and Detroit, allowing a total of three runs while issuing one walk and registering 10 strikeouts. Junis has yet to face the Mets but is 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA in nine career interleague starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Mets sent OF Brandon Nimmo (neck), who hasn't played since May 20, to Single-A St. Lucie for a rehab assignment.
2. Kansas City recalled Brett Phillips, who went 0-for-3 with an RBI in his season debut on Friday, from Triple-A Omaha and designated fellow OF Billy Hamilton for assignment.
3. New York purchased the contract of Paul Sewald from Triple-A Syracuse, optioned Drew Gagnon to the affiliate and designated fellow RHP Tim Peterson for assignment.