ST. LOUIS — Christian Scott visited Citi Field last season as part of a ceremony recognizing him as the Mets’ minor league pitcher of the year.
Invited to stay for the scheduled game, the right-hander watched into the late innings before a lengthy rain delay sent him away. He’s now preparing for a return to the Queens ballpark and plans to stick it out.
After a scintillating major league debut last weekend, the 24-year-old is scheduled to face the Braves on Saturday for his first home start.
Based on what he saw last year, Scott has a good idea what to expect at Citi Field.
“I loved it, and the Mets fans are awesome,” Scott said before weather forced the postponement of the team’s scheduled game against the Cardinals on Wednesday. “[Mets fans] want to win. We want to win. I do everything I possibly can when I’m out there to get a win for the Mets fans. They have been great to me and the least we can do is give everything we have when we’re out there and try to get a win for them.”
Scott received a sampling at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., which had a large contingent of Mets fans for his debut last Saturday.
In that start, he pitched 6 ²/₃ innings and allowed one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Scott allowed three hits and a run in the first inning before dominating the Rays.
This time he will be tested by one of baseball’s top lineups in an NL East rivalry game.
Scott, who grew up in Coconut Grove, Fla., rooting for the Red Sox, will be receiving a primer on Mets-Braves.
“I have a lot of respect for the organization and what they do,” Scott said. “They have got great guys in their lineup, up and down. Maybe I will talk to [Mets prospect] Luisangel Acuña about how to get his brother [Ronald] out. I trust my stuff, so we’ll see what happens.”
Scott was initially to pitch the series opener on Friday, but Wednesday’s postponement pushed back the starting assignments.
Jose Quintana is now scheduled for Friday, with Scott a day later and Luis Severino set for the series finale.
“I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot of people looking forward to watching Scotty pitch in Citi Field,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I’m expecting a big-time crowd and a lot of support from our fan base.”
Scott topped out at 97 mph with his four-seam fastball against the Rays. He averaged 95 mph with the pitch and worked in a sweeper, slider and splitter. The development last season of his sweeper, in particular, helped catapult Scott to the major leagues.
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Is there an area Scott wants to improve upon in this start?
“Establish the inside of the zone to right-hand hitters — and left-hand hitters, really,” Scott said. “Don’t let them lean over the plate. I want to go in and attack in. Really, just keep attacking because I thought I did a real good job of doing that against the Rays.
“They were real aggressive early and that has happened to me a couple of times in Triple-A, where in the first inning someone is really aggressive. Just learn the game plan — not go from Plan A to Plan B, but have a better idea of what the game is giving me and what I can take from the game.”
It’s been a whirlwind week for Scott with all that goes into preparing a major league debut and dealing with the celebratory aftermath of a dominant first start. But Scott said his focus has remained constant.
“I’m super-grateful and super-humbled to be able to put this uniform on,” Scott said. “This is truly an honor to wear this uniform, so I am not taking any moment for granted.”
