A solid series win over the Braves while the Mets tread water

The Mets impressively took a home series from Atlanta to salvage a 3-3 homestand

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets pummeled the Braves to take their weekend series against them by a score of 8-1 on Sunday (box)

• Freddy Peralta started for the Mets and, despite only lasting five innings, was solid while allowing just a first inning run for his fifth win of the season

• AJ Ewing doubled in two runs on two separate occasions, and both Ewing and Marcus Semien hit back-to-back solo home runs in the fifth inning

• Bo Bichette kept his good times rolling with two more hits and two runs scored, and Juan Soto, Brett Baty and Carson Benge each contributed two hits a piece

• The Mets 1-5 in the order combined to go 10-for-22 with seven runs scored and five RBI on the afternoon

• The Mets bullpen was strong once again - they were spotless over the game’s final four innings

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Injury Updates 🏥

• Francisco Lindor (calf strain) will be ramped up this week with hopes he can soon begin a rehab assignment

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Who’s Hot 🥵

• Bo Bichette is hitting .390/.372/.732 with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 12 RBI with 16 hits and eight runs scored

• Juan Soto has recorded two hits in each of his last four games. Over his last 17 games, Soto is hitting .290/.380/.565 with two doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI with 18 hits and 10 runs scored

• Over his last 10 games, AJ Ewing is hitting .343/.385/.514 with three doubles, a home run and three RBI with 12 hits and five runs scored

• Over his last 16 games, Carson Benge is hitting .302/.362/.556 with two doubles, a triple, four home runs and eight RBI with 19 hits and 12 runs scored

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Play of the Game ⭐️

The Mets had a lot of offense on Sunday, but the play of the game is the one that broke the tie for the Mets when AJ Ewing doubled to left in the first, resulting in two runs thanks to a bizarre throwing error that ricocheted off the netting, which allowed a second run to score.

The Mets didn’t look back from there on Sunday as they owned it and secured an impressive series win against the Braves, who are the best team in baseball on this date.

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Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

In Sunday’s edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Rich flies solo to recap the Mets strong series win against the Braves in what was another mediocre week on their homestand, and also, yeah, the Knicks!

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Jonah Tong (no. 2 prospect, AAA): 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 K

• OF José Ramos (AA): 3-for-5, 2 RBI

• SS Mitch Voit (no.6 prospect, High-A): 3-for-4, 2 RBI, R

• OF Simon Juan (Low-A): 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R

BOX SCORES

Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (32-39) vs. Reds (33-37)

Where: Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, OH

Starters: RHP Tobias Myers (0-1, 4.05 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Burns (7-1, 2.14 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Positive signs as the Mets tread water ✍️

Image courtesy of the New York Mets

Make no mistake - the Mets had a very, very good weekend against the Braves. They won their series against Atlanta, the best team in baseball, in fairly decisive fashion. They hit the ball well, they pitched well, especially their bullpen, which has emerged as one of the best units in the sport, oddly enough. And they were also very clean end-to-end in the field, which is an underdiscussed improvement for this club in 2026.

Unfortunately for the Mets though, winning their series only helped them to a .500 homestand thanks to a lethargic start to the week against the Cardinals. This week mirrored the week prior, which means the Mets are merely treading water while they wait for Francisco Lindor to return, which will hopefully be within two weeks but could be a little longer depending on the timing of his rehab assignment, how his at-bats go down there, how he is feeling on both sides of the ball, etc.

Even so, with this team, playing .500 ball right now - which is what they’ve done over the last couple of weeks - is probably all anyone could ask for given the current construction of the lineup, the state of the starting rotation, and the general strength of their schedule. Of course, the need to do better if they want to get back to .500 and even start talking about a playoff race, but there are good signs among those who are here despite work to do with others and some fat trimming that I have been waiting for with this roster even before the Mets hit the bottom of the tank in April.

Now, if we stretch things out further and go back to May 1, there are some more encouraging signs.

Since that date, which is a span of 40 games and not really a small sample considering it’s a quarter of the season, the Mets are 22-18 with a +24 run differential. Their pitching hasn’t been stellar, but it has been solid, allowing about four runs per game to the tune of a 3.59 team ERA, which is the seventh-best mark in the game. That has a lot to do with their bullpen, of course, which has a 2.81 ERA during those 40 games, which is the fourth-best mark in the game.

New York Post

That isn’t bad, and if the Mets can start to hit a little more consistently and make long-awaited adjustments to their offensive approach, they can ride that pitching into the periphery of the playoff race if they can get back to .500 over the next month or so.

Yeah, the Mets need to figure out what to do with their rotation. It’s a big problem and has been a big problem for the last 365 days. They have not been able to get it right, whether it’s with the personnel, pitching program, or both, and that’s just the simple fact of the matter. They simply need more out of Freddy Peralta, specifically, who is the veteran leader on this team, a guy they gave up a lot to get, and a proven front runner of the rotations he has been a part of over the years.

Now, I really liked what I saw from Peralta on Sunday despite another five-inning outing.

He did predominantly use his fastball on Sunday, but he incorporated his off-speed and breaking pitches a little bit more, which helped to keep Atlanta’s potent offense off-balanced over the first five innings of this game. He got a lot of chase on his curveball and change-up specifically, but that also had a lot to do with getting ahead more and forcing Atlanta to expand the strike zone in counts that he was able to dictate.

So, Peralta should be pleased with how those adjustments played out against a very tough team.

No matter what happens with anyone else, if the Mets are going to turn a bad story into a good one in 2026, Peralta is going to have to be in front of that. Like I said, they need more out of him, they expect more out of him, and he expects more out of himself, I am sure. A lot is riding on Sunday being a positive step forward for him between a potential Mets turnaround and his own pending free agency. He needs to be the ace, be the leader, and be that presence for the rest of the Mets rotation, which needs guidance and some inspiration to follow themselves.

New York Post

Speaking of which, the Mets are turning to Tobias Myers to start today, which is the right call but, as usual, I am simply perplexed by his situation and the way they have handled him.

I had assumed he was going to the minors to be stretched out as a starter. The Mets, after all, need another reliable starter here, or simply someone who can give them any kind of length in this broken rotation. Myers seemed like that guy - his demotion was certainly not merit-based considering how solid he was as a multi-role reliever/opener/jack-of-all-trades pitcher for this staff.

But, he made three appearances, one start, and combined to throw a total of six innings for Triple-A Syracuse. So, how many innings can he possibly give the Mets today?

This past weekend, David Stearns was kind of wishy-washy on what Myers’ role would be when he got back, which just boggles my mind. They need a starter, he was supposed to be stretched out as a starter, they need an opener seemingly every other day, and need their bullpen to bail out this rotation seemingly every day, so I don’t know.

But, they’re seven games under .500, so clearly they don’t know, either.

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Around the League 🚩

• The first place White Sox put up a six-spot in the sixth inning and held off a late surge to beat the Dodgers 6-4

• Kyle Harrison allowed three hits over six innings as the Brewers shut the Phillies out 4-0

• The Rockies put up a six spot, a five spot, and a four spot to win a 23-9 slugfest over the A’s in West Sacramento

• Tampa Bay put up a five spot of their own as the A’s rolled past the Angels 8-3 for their 41st win of the season