Well Mets fans, another tough series but the Mets did pick up their first win of the 2024 season against the Tigers. Let’s take a look back at this just-finished series vs. the Detroit Tigers and look ahead to the next opponent, the Cincinnati Reds.
Detroit Tigers Series – What Did We Learn?
The Tigers took two out of three from the Mets at Citi Field in NY, by a combined score of 12-5. Mother Nature certainly played a role in the series, as the last two games of the series were postponed due to rain, and made up through a doubleheader on Thursday. First pitch on Thursday was 43 degrees. The two Tigers’ wins were in extra innings, and the Mets win was accomplished in dramatic fashion through a ninth inning comeback.
The Mets and Tigers seemed fairly evenly matched throughout, despite what the final scores say. Game 1 was a 5-0 Tigers win, but was scoreless at the end of 9 innings and needed a tenth inning to get there. Michael Tonkin, a new member of the Mets bullpen in 2024, entered the game in the tenth, and gave up 5 runs (none earned). Joey Wendle, another Mets new comer, booted a grounder at second base which opened the floodgates for Detroit. In the second game of the series, and first of the doubleheader, we again saw extra innings, with Detroit winning it in the 11th by a final of 6-3. The last game of the series, the second of Thursday’s doubleheader, provided the type of drama Mets fans can appreciate. Despite being no-hit entering the 8th inning, Harrison Bader delivered the Mets first hit of the game in the bottom of that inning. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Pete Alonso took a pitch seemingly off the dirt and muscled it over the fence in left center to tie the game at 1-1. Following a Brett Baty walk, Starling Marte sacrificed him to second where the stage was set for Tyrone Taylor to play the hero and deliver Baty home with a single for the Mets first win of the season.
Here’s the good I take out of this series for the Mets:
Starting Pitching: The starters in each game of the series performed extremely well. Sean Manaea, in the first game of the series on Monday, kept the Tigers off balance throughout and went 6 strong innings, giving up no runs, only 1 hit and 2 walks to go along with 8 strikeouts. Adrian Houser took the mound to start the doubleheader and did not disappoint. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 5 innings. To wrap up the doubleheader and series, Jose Butto was called up and delivered well. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits with 6 strikeouts in 6 innings, but was in line for the loss before Alonso dramatically tied the game.
Polar Bear Delivers: With another series sweep staring them in the face and a potential 0-6 start to the season, in the bottom of the 9th in the last game of the series, Pete Alonso came through in the clutch. He delivered a solo homer to tie the game and set up a 2-1 bottom of the 9th come from behind win. Alonso became the fastest in team history to 500 RBI’s.
That’s Our Catcher: Entering the Reds series with a .400 batting average and a 1.129 OPS on the season, Francisco Alvarez remains one of the few bright spots on the 2024 Mets. In the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, Alvarez got the scoring started with a double to Left Field to score two.
Here’s what needs to improve moving forward:
Team Batting: At one point in the series, the Mets had gone 13 consecutive innings without a hit. That was the longest amount of time between hits in the history of the team.
Table Setters: When the top of the lineup is not producing, it’s going to be really difficult to score runs. While that is stating the obvious, it proved to be true for this ballclub. Brandon Nimmo, the leadoff man, is batting .048 so far this season with an On Base Percentage (OBP) of .286. Francisco Lindor, the Silver Slugger shortstop of the Mets, is batting .042 with an OBP of .179. These numbers won’t cut it, and the Mets are now 1-5. Similar to my question coming out of the season-opening series, J.D. Martinez are you ready yet?
Who’s Next: Cincinnati Reds
Up next are the 4-2 Cincinnati Reds. The Mets will be on the road for the first time in 2024 as they travel to Cincinnati. While not as friendly to hitters as Coors Field in Colorado or Citizens Bank Park in Philly, here’s hoping that Great American Ballpark is a bit more friendly to the Mets’ hitters than Citi Field has been so far. The Reds are coming off series victories in the first two series of their 2024 campaign, taking 2 out of 3 from both the Washington Nationals and most recently the Philadelphia Phillies. Here are a few players to watch, with ties to the Mets or who were discussion points for the Mets:
Justin Wilson: This lefty reliever has appeared in 3 games for the Reds so far this season and has pitched to a 0.00 ERA. Wilson was a Met in 2019 and 2020, making 45 appearances in 2019 and pitching to a 2.54 ERA.
Alexis Diaz: Edwin’s younger brother, Alexis, is the closer for the Reds. He has 1 save so far in the young 2024 season after 37 saves in 2023, when he was a National League All-Star.
The Mets and their fans are hoping that the good vibes from the 2-1 comeback victory over the Tigers in the final game of the doubleheader carry over to the start of the series with the Reds. As always, Let’s Go Mets!
Stats by espn.com
By : Jason Krom
Photo Credit; El Nuveo Dia,
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