Playoffs?!
As Jim Mora would say, “Playoffs?!” Parity is a great thing for sports, and the Mets (as well as many other teams) are the beneficiaries of that at the moment. While it is strange to think that the team with the top payroll in the majors at $308 million is helped by parity, this year they are.
The Mets have been up and down through the beginning of this season. Their record currently stands at 33-37 which is slightly worse than the roughly .500 baseball I expected them to play this year.
I had also expected New York to compete for one of the National League Wild Card spots. Despite the sub-.500 record they are still in the thick of the Wild Card race at this point. They have the third-worst record in the NL at 33-37. At the same time, they are only 1.5 games away from the last playoff spot.
There are a few reasons for confidence when considering the Mets playoff chances this year. The first is Edwin Diaz. It has been obvious that he has not been the same closer that was lights-out all of 2022. However, he missed all of 2023 with his injured knee. With Diaz struggling, the Mets have 11 blown saves this season. Converting even half of those, all else equal, would have the Mets at 38-32 and in the second Wild Card position. If Diaz returns to form, the Mets bullpen is in much better shape and will convert more save chances.
The leadership being shown by Francisco Lindor has been commendable. Calling the team meeting when things looked their bleakest so far seems like the saving grace for the Mets. Since that meeting they have gone 11-4. Lindor has solidified himself at the team’s leader and potential Captain if/when a new one is named. His stats have also improved, as he is up to an average of .232 after struggling below .200 for too long, with 12 home runs and 33 RBI’s. His continued convergence to the back of his baseball card will help the Mets a ton moving forward.
The catching position can and should be a position of strength. Francisco Alvarez is returning from injury and Luis Torrens has been a steal in-season pickup by the front office. This combination has been a great one over the past few weeks and should be moving forward.
J.D. Martinez has really hit his stride recently as well. He has credited Lindor’s Team Meeting as a turning point for the team, and has played great since then. He has hit safely in 13 of the 15 games since that meeting, with 5 homers and 16 RBIs. His continued emergence is enabling this renewed optimism.
On the flip side, Pete Alonso should not be expected to be below his norms over a whole season. Despite a strong final game against the Padres, his current numbers of an average of .231 with 15 homers and 35 RBIs are not worthy of the contract he’ll likely look for after this season. One could wonder if the contract situation is weighing on him. His ability to pick up his average and even out his production instead of being so up and down will also contribute to the team’s playoff chances.
Here are the game recaps for the Mets sweep over the San Diego Padres / Fighting Ron Burgundy’s:
Game 1: Mets 2, Padres 1
The highlight of this game was clearly the return to the Save ledger by Diaz. Other highlights included a strong start, though not a long one, from Sean Manaea, and just enough offense to get by.
The Mets offense was far from impressive, yet again. The lineup produced only four hits in total, with two of them from Brandon Nimmo and the most impactful being a two-run double in the third by Martinezthat put the Mets up 2-0. Starling Marte had the other hit. Normally, in these circumstances, the lack of hits is driven by strikeouts. Not in this one, as the Mets only struck out twice.
Getting the start for the Mets wasManaea. Par for the course with Mets starting pitching this season, he only went 5 innings while giving up only a run on four hits and a walk to go along with seven strikeouts. With the win, his record moved to 4-3 with an ERA of 4.11 on the season. Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, and Sean Reid-Foley contributed three innings of no-hit and scoreless relief, before Diaz entered in the ninth to his familiar Narco entrance music. The trumpets had reason to celebrate as he earned his sixth save of the year, surrendering a hit in his one inning while striking out two. It was his first save since May 6th.
The Padres struck out a total of 12 times, with three each by Manny Machado and Donovan Solano. The San Diego offense only produced five hits with two apiece from Jurickson Profar and Luis Arraez. The only run came courtesy of Jackson Merrill, who hit his sixth homer of the season in the fifth.
Matt Waldron started for the Padres and kept his team in the game. Over seven innings he surrendered only one run on three hits and two walks to go with two strikeouts. Adrian Morejon went the final inning.
Game 2: Mets 5, Padres 1
The power of one of the Mets bats in particular was on display and a strong day from Jose Quintana helped the Mets beat the Padres a second straight time. They moved to 10-4 since the team meeting Lindor called and 4-0 in the Grimace Era. Unfortunately, a big part of this game’s storyline was the strike zone of home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor.
The Mets offense was paced by Martinez, with J.D. now standing for “Just Dingers.” Martinez went a perfect three for three with two walks. Two of his three hits were home runs which give him eight on the season. Nimmo also had a strong game at the plate going two for give with two RBIs.
After struggling in his previous few starts, Quintana was on his game in this one. Over his six innings of work, he gave up only one run on two hits with two walks while striking out six. The win moved his record to 2-5 on the season and lowered his ERA below 5.00, to 4.98. The Mets bullpen duo of Dedniel Nunez and Reed Garrett combined for three perfect innings of relief to finish off the non-save game.
The only members of the Padres to produce hits were Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Jackson Merrill, who homered for the second straight game against the Mets.
Adam Mazur had a tough start for the Padres in the third start of his major league career. In this start he went 3.2 innings, and though he only gave up two runs on three hits, he did walk six over the 84 pitches he threw. Mazur was backstopped by Jhony Brito, Enyel de los Santos, and Stephen Kolek. Those relievers combined to give up three runs over the final 4.1 frames.
Game 3: Mets 11, Padres 6
The Mets finished off the sweep of the Padres with a victory that was more exciting than it had to be. Entering the top of the eighth the score was 7-2 Mets, and entering the bottom of the eighth it was 7-6. More opposite field hitting from Martinez, power from Lindor and Alonso, and a good start from Tylor Megill led the way for the Mets in this one, bringing the Grimace Era record to 5-0.
Where to begin regarding the Mets lineup. The Lindor Resurgence Tour continued and he hit a big homer in the bottom of the first to start the Mets scoring. Alonso also hit a home run, his 15th of the season to go along with a two-RBI single in the eighth to finish with five RBIs on the day. Martinez was two for three on the day with two walks. Luis Torrens hit an insurance solo homer in the bottom of the eighth following a treacherous top of the inning for the relievers. Torrens went two for four with two runs. Nimmo contributed three hits and Bader two.
The Mets starters have followed a formula this season, and Megillstuck to it in this game. He covered five innings with 92 pitches, giving up two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Adrian Houser then entered and continued his strong pitching since being moved from the rotation to the bullpen, until the eighth. He was relieved by Diekman and Drew Smith, where four runs scored and the lead was cut to 7-6. Reid-Foley pitched the ninth to finish.
The Padres had six runs on 10 hits. They also walked four times and struck out seven times. Luis Campusano contributed two hits from the nine spot in the lineup, and Arraez had two hits from the leadoff spot. The RBIs were contributed by Profar, Machado, Merrill, David Peralta, Ha-Seong Kim, and Campusano, who all had an RBI each. Tatis, Jr. struck out three times.
Taking the mound for the Padres, Dylan Cease struggled against the Mets lineup. Over 3.2 innings of work, he gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts. He was relieved by Yuki Matsui, Kolek, Jeremiah Estrada, and De los Santos.
With the series sweep over the Padres, the Mets stand at 33-37 which is 13.5 games behind the first-place Phillies. However, they are only 1.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. The Mets are right back at it, traveling to Texas to take on the Rangers for a Tuesday through Thursday three-game series. This will be the first time these two teams face off in 2024.
Stats by espn.com
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