Grit and character are the definition of the early season Mets in 2026
The Mets came back and won on a tenth inning walk-off single from Ronny Mauricio on Tuesday at frigid Citi Field
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks 4-3 in extra innings on Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field (box)
Freddy Peralta started for the Mets and he staggered through 4.2 IP, ultimately allowing three runs in the fifth inning although Huascar Brazoban allowed all three of his inherited runs to score with two outs in the fifth
Jared Young drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and Ronny Mauricio drove in the game winner in the tenth inning with a single to plate the ghost runner
The Mets bullpen turned in 5.1 IP of scoreless relief - the Mets bullpen now has a 1.45 ERA over it’s first 11 games of the season
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
On the latest edition of The Just Mets Podcast, Andrew and Rich recap a 4-3 road trip against the Cardinals/Giants, Juan Soto headed to the IL, and Mark Vientos’ sudden resurgence.
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Down on the Farm 🌾
INF Mitch Voit (no. 7 prospect, High-A): 1-for-4, 2 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL (Suspended) | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG (PPD) | Triple-A SYR (PPD)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (7-4) vs Diamondbacks (5-6)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP David Peterson (0-1, 4.66 ERA) vs. RHP Ryne Nelson (0-1, 5.79 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The Mets are already showing a lot of grit and character in 2026 ✍️
Tuesday wasn’t the easiest of games for the Mets to undertake in 2026.
They’re down Juan Soto. They have a hampered Jorge Polanco. It was maybe 45 degrees with a stiff wind all afternoon and into the early evening at Citi Field. They had to deal with a rough outing for Freddy Peralta, who needed 100 or so pitches to get 14 outs against the Diamondbacks. They needed more than five innings from their bullpen.
But the Mets, like they have on several occasions over the first 12 days of this season, managed to hang around despite the adversity, and hang around long enough to find a path towards a win in what seemed more and more like a game in which the Mets were going to lose.
On this day, the hero seemingly was Ronny Mauricio, up from the minors on a recall thanks to Soto going down with a calf injury and notching his first career walk-off RBI. But there were a lot of heroes.
There was Luke Weaver stranding the ghost runner at second in the top of the tenth inning, which gave the Mets a clear layup to win this game in the bottom of the inning. There was also Jared Young’s sac fly in the eighth that tied the game at 3-3 and gave the club the life they needed to come away with a win a couple of innings later. Then there was the bullpen, who picked up Peralta and his shaky outing to freeze out the Diamondbacks and their offense from the fifth inning onward. There was also Brett Baty who drove in a run in the first, and setup the tying run in the eighth.
There were a lot of reasons the Mets were able to pick up their seventh win on Tuesday, but the theme of the day was the overall grind, and scratching and clawing their way to a win.
It’s wins like these that build a club’s character and identity. Sure, there are attributes about this offense, attributes about their pitching staff, and their general brand of baseball that help form this identity. But at the same time, the Mets have had several inspiring wins among their seven on the ledger already, and they’re not even a tenth of the way through the regular season.
And again, on top of all of the adversity they had on the field on Tuesday, the weather wasn’t exactly on their side, either.
This late-inning mojo the Mets have already displayed on numerous occasions this season simply did not exist last year. Their 0-70 record when trailing after the eighth inning in 2025 seemed completely unfathomable and perhaps unlucky to an extent as well, but it was also representative of a character trait the Mets sorely lacked, desperately needed to find, and could very well possess in 2026. They now have two wins this season when trailing in the eighth inning, if I am not mistaken. Two of the seven wins they have on the year at that.
Yeah, it’s early. We shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. And these kinds of wins tend to inspire a more thought-provoking response than your typical 5-2 win or loss on any given Tuesday.
But it’s these kinds of games that unquestionably create momentum for a team and help to build the kind of chemistry the club needs to be successful over the next 151 games on the schedule.
Sure, there are concerns. I am still worried about Bo Bichette’s defense at third. I am still worried about how this first-base situation will ultimately play out. I will forever be skeptical about the rotation, as generally well as it’s performed over the first 11 games. I am a little concerned about the quality of play overall from Francisco Lindor, although I think a lot of his early struggles can be attributed to a shortened and accelerated spring training.
But for now, it’s hard for me not to be intrigued by the possibilities of this revamped club. Their character wins have defined their early-season success so far in 2026. There will be days that character is tested for sure, but hopefully, it’s wins like today that help build a strong foundation that’s resistant to cracking.
Around the League 🚩
Paul Skenes allowed two hits and run over 6.1 IP as the Pirates shutdown the Padres 7-1
Gunnar Henderson homered and the Orioles got a strong start from Trevor Rogers in their 4-2 win over the White Sox
Brayan Rocchio hit a walk-off single in the Guardians 2-1 over the Royals
Garrett Crochet struck out seven over 6.1 IP as the Red Sox edged the Brewers 3-2
Good post, Michael. I feel the same way. With Young at bat, I said to myself, "We'll see what this team's character is like right now." And Young and the rest of the group got the job done.
I note this blog has got some bickering going on, which is entertaining. Hope it doesn't degenerate into the vitriol I see on MLBTR sometimes. Btw, I don't think complaining is a sin, per se.