Schedule offers opportunities for some early wins
The 2024 schedule presents the Mets with prime opportunities to pick up some early wins — but gets much harder in a hurry.
Four of the Mets’ first five opponents are projected to win fewer than 80 games, according to Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA sabermetric system. First up are the depleted Milwaukee Brewers, who open the season with a three-game series at Citi Field beginning March 28.
The Brewers won 92 games and the National League Central last season but traded away ace Corbin Burnes in the offseason and are expected to be without fellow frontline starter Brandon Woodruff for most, if not all, of 2024 as he recovers from shoulder surgery. The Brew Crew also lost president of baseball operations David Stearns to the Mets and manager Craig Counsell to the Chicago Cubs.
Following the mass exodus, the Brewers are expected to win only 79 games in 2024, fewer than the Mets’ 83.
After hosting Milwaukee from March 28-31 (with a March 29 off day), the Mets welcome the Detroit Tigers — who won 78 games last season but are projected for three fewer victories this year — from April 1-3.
The Mets then embark on their first road trip with stops in Cincinnati (April 5-7) and Atlanta (April 8-11). The up-and-coming Reds, at 82-80, flirted with a wild-card spot last season but fell just short.
The Braves, meanwhile, remain a juggernaut after last year’s Mlb-best 104-win campaign, having added injury-prone Chris Sale to a rotation already featuring 20-game winner Spencer Strider and fellow All-star pitchers Max Friend and Charlie Morton. Also back are reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., reigning NL home run leader Matt Olson, and Ozzie Albies, whose 33 homers led all MLB second basemen.
The Mets then return home for three-game sets with the Kansas City Royals (April 12-14) and Pittsburgh Pirates (April 15-17), neither of whom came close to making the 2023 postseason.
A brutal West Coast road swing is set to follow, with the Mets scheduled to visit the reloaded Los Angeles Dodgers from April 19-21 and the similarly retooled San Francisco Giants from April 22-24.