Enough to Make You Grimace
There has been a bunch of debate recently about what has changed the course of the New York Mets 2024 season. Some of this credit, jokingly, has gone to a purple blob of McDonald’s fame named Grimace. While this has riled some traditional fans, it’s important to note that the Major League Baseball season is a long one, and storylines come and go. The Grimace story will soon be gone, and at the end of the day, correlation is not the same as causation.
The 2024 Mets have been obviously up and down through different points of the year. Starting the year 0-5. Kodai Senga’s injury keeping him out longer than anticipated. The career resurgence of Luis Severino. The dominance/looking lost/dominance again of Edwin Diaz. Francisco Lindor batting below .200, then playing some of the best baseball of his career.
Grimace throwing out the first pitch of the game, and the Mets going on a seven-game winning streak, is a fun thing to talk about. It somewhat coincided with the timing of the Team Meeting Lindor called, as well as the return of Francisco Alvarez to the lineup. Again, correlation does not prove causation.
For the traditionalists that get offended with fans attributing the Mets recent success to the giant purple blob from McDonald’s, let’s have some fun and enjoy the success. At the end of the day, who cares what drives the success, and if there is anything to the Grimace Era good luck, get him in the dugout permanently!
Here are the game-by-game rundowns of the Mets-Rangers series in Texas:
Game 1: Mets 14, Rangers 2
The Mets brought the big bats for Game 1 in Texas. The winning streak moved to six and the Grimace Era record to 6-0. As discussed on The Sport Truth podcast a few weeks ago, Alvarez is a foundational building block. The Mets are now 17-1 in the last 18 games that Alvarez has played in. His presence is felt both in the lineup and with the pitching staff.
In baseball, hitting is often contagious. That has been the case with the Mets this year, both to the good and bad. This game represented the good as they plated 14 runs on 22 hits. Home runs were delivered by Brandon Nimmo and D.J. Stewart. Doubles from Lindor, Harrison Bader, and Mark Vientos were supplemented by 17 singles by the Mets. Tyrone Taylor was the only Mets starter who did not get a hit, but he still managed to score a run. Lindor was the first star of this one, going four for four with two RBIs and three runs. Nimmo was three for four with four RBIs and two runs.
David Peterson was strong on the mound for the Mets, throwing 100 pitches over six innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts. The win moves his record to 3-0 on the season with a 3.97 ERA. Adam Ottavino and Drew Smith chipped in three innings of scoreless relief.
The Rangers scored twice in the bottom of the third courtesy of a Robbie Grossman two-run homer. That cut the Mets lead from 7-0 to 7-2. Grossman finished with two hits, as did Ezequiel Duran.
The normally solid Jon Gray started for Texas in his third appearance (second start) since returning from the IL. Gray was roughed up for nine runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts over 3 innings. He entered the game with a 2.17 ERA on the season and finished the game with a 3.31 ERA. Jonathan Hernandez, Cole Winn, and Andrew Knizner went the final six frames, giving up a combined five runs on 11 more hits.
Game 2: Mets 7, Rangers 6
The Mets keep rolling, winning their seventh straight in the Grimace Era and move to 18-1 in the last 19 games Alvarez has played in. This game was a bit different in that it required the Mets to come back, with the heroics provided by Alvarez and Alonso.
A good lineup provides diversification, with some players stepping up while others are slumping. With J.D. Martinez not providing the same timely hitting and power that he did in the Padres series, and Lindor going 0 for 5 in this game, others picked up the slack. Vientos was three for five with an RBI and three runs, Alvarez was three for four with two RBIs, and Alonso two for four with and RBI and run. Nimmo also chipped in another home run and he is up to nine on the season.
This game was a bit of a downer for Severino. After solid outings his last two times out against the Nationals and Marlins, he went 6.1 innings in this one, allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk to go along with only one strikeout. Jake Diekman relieved Severino and finished the seventh before Reed Garrett pitched a clean eighth to pick up the win. His record is now 7-2. Diaz gave up a hit in the ninth but that runner was eliminated on a double play, and Diaz closed the door on the victory for his seventh save of the season in 11 chances.
For the Rangers on offense, Josh Smith had the big shot, a three-run homer as part of five-run fifth inning for Texas, which staked them to a 6-2 lead. Wyatt Langford added a solo home run and Corey Seager went one for four with two RBIs.
Making the start for the Rangers was Michael Lorenzen. He went six innings, surrendering three runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. The bullpen could not hold the lead. Jose Leclerc, former Met David Robertson, Jacob Latz, and Kirby Yates combined to give up four runs. Yates, the closer, took the loss after giving up an unearned run (driven by a catcher’s interference call).
Game 3: Rangers 5, Mets 3
The Mets drop the series finale in Texas to the Rangers, and move to 7-1 in the Grimace Era. Despite the Mets taking a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning, the defending World Series champs came back to take the third game. The Mets won the series two games to one.
The bats in the Mets lineup cooled off compared to the previous two games where they produced a combined 21 runs. Alonso hit a two-run home run in the sixth, while Starling Marte chipped in with an RBI double in the fourth. Mets hitters struck out 12 times.
Getting the start for the Mets was Sean Manaea and he produced a Manaea-like stat line. Over 5.2 innings he was charged with three runs on only two hits and three walks while striking out six. Manea threw 95 pitches. The third run charged to Manaea came courtesy of a hit that Sean Reid-Foley gave up as he came in to relieve Manaea. After he finished off the sixth inning, Smith pitched the seventh and gave up a two-run homer to break the 3-3 tie. Smith took the loss, his first of the year that moved him to a 1-1 record. Adrian Houser pitched the eighth and was solid in giving up only a hit and striking out two.
The Rangers offense was buoyed by Leody Tavares and Wyatt Langford, who contributed two RBIs each. Tavares hit the game-deciding home run in the seventh inning while Langford was hit by a pitch in the first with the bases loaded and tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth.
Andrew Heaney took the hill for the Rangers and went six innings, giving up three runs on four hits with two walks. He struck out nine. Jose Urena pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his third win of the season and Yates rebounded from the Game Two loss to pick up his 11th save of the season.
Looking Ahead
With the series win over the Rangers, the Mets stand at 35-38 which is 13.5 games behind the first-place Phillies. However, they are only one game out of the final NL Wild Card spot. After an off day on Thursday, the Mets travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs for a three-game weekend series. The 36-39 Cubs are also one game out of the Wild Card in the crowded National League. The teams split a four-game series in New York in late April.
Stats by espn.com
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