Maybe the Mets got their motors running?
The Mets topped their big win on Saturday with an even more dramatic win on Sunday
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets came back to beat the Yankees 7-6 at Citi Field on Sunday (box)
Tyrone Taylor shocked the Yankees with a game-tying, three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning off of David Bednar to even the score at 6-6
Carson Benge drove in the winning run in the 10th inning with a slow bouncer up the infield with the Yankee infield drawn in
Freddy Peralta staggered through five innings on Sunday, allowing six walks and three runs before giving way to Sean Manaea, who allowed three runs over his four innings of work
Mark Vientos continued his ascent with two more hits, and both Marcus Semien and Luis Torrens doubled
The Mets won their first game when trailing after eight innings since 2024 - they had lost 96 straight such games until Sunday afternoon
All five of the Mets wins on this homestand were comeback wins - they are now 20-26 and are 10-5 in May
Injury Updates 🏥
INF Jorge Polanco (Achilles bursitis) is participating in baseball activities, but is not ready to progress towards a rehab assignment
RHP Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation) threw a multi-inning live BP in Florida recently, but will not go on a rehab assignment until his pitch metrics improve
Play of the Game ✨
Tyrone Taylor with two outs in the ninth inning.
Enough said.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of the Just Mets podcast, Andrew Claudio reacts to the Mets’ dramatic Subway Series win over the Yankees, and how the Mets are starting to look a little more competitive as we head towards Memorial Day.
Andrew is also joined by Benjy Ritholtz from Knicks Film School to recap the Subway Series and its history.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
DH Ji Hwan Bae (AAA): 2-for-3, BB, 2 R, K
INF Jacob Reimer (no. 4 prospect, AA): 3-for-3, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
RHP Brady Miller (High-A): 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (20-26) vs. Nationals (23-24)
Where: Nationals Park - Washington D.C.
Starters: RHP Christian Scott (0-0, 3.45 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (1-4, 5.91 ERA)
When: 6:45 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Some stability can go a long way ✍️
Before we get too excited, make no mistake - the Mets have a long way to go here. But we can talk about that in a bit.
OK, now we can get a little excited, and that is all thanks to Tyrone Taylor and his improbable, late-game heroics on Sunday to cap the Mets’ best week of the season.
It wasn’t looking good at all on Sunday, that is for sure. The Yankees were generally cruising to a 6-3 win deep into the ninth inning, even with two on and the light-hitting Taylor coming up, and then seemingly out of nowhere, he hit one back to Yankee Stadium and tied that puppy up at six - the Mets were destined to win that game from there, turning a Subway Series loss into a dramatic, storied Subway Series win and one for the matchup’s history books. It will undoubtedly serve as one of the great New York-New York highlights forever, as it should.
The most significant part of this fun win for me is that there seems to be some momentum and rhythm to this team for now. Yes, there are still massive holes, there has been some massive underperformance with Bo Bichette and Sean Manaea, and that’s just among those who are present at the moment, but the injection of AJ Ewing has changed the dynamic of the team and given this club a dose of energy that was just not there before last Tuesday.
I am not saying it’s all because of Ewing, but sometimes just changing the makeup of the roster by swapping out some older veterans with some youth can make a difference. Carson Benge has started to live up to his prospect status, Mark Vientos has been a lot better this month, as has Brett Baty, and they all deserve credit for changing the conversation around them and helping the team to a 10-5 May to-date. But the addition of Ewing combined with the element of stability around the diamond, playing people at their best positions and those players knowing where they are playing and when has added an element of normalcy to the Mets, even with so many players out for the foreseeable future.
It probably helps that Baty knows he is going to be at third base when he wakes up in the morning, which is his best position, for instance. I would like to see Bichette show a pulse at some point, but you have to believe playing shortstop, his most familiar position, will eventually help him figure things out as well.
Now, that doesn’t mean there aren’t problems, like I said before. But we have talked about them exhaustingly over the last six weeks, so there’s no need to rehash them today. They exist whether the Mets went 5-1 on this homestand or not, whether they’re 10-5 in May or not. None of this is sustainable for them as constructed.
But that doesn’t mean this club won’t have moments, and it doesn’t mean this team isn’t at least fun to watch right now, as opposed to the weeks 1-6 of the season, which were pretty unbearable and flat out embarrassing.
After all, they just won two out of three against a mostly fully armed Yankee team minus Gerrit Cole, José Caballero, and Giancarlo Stanton. They got to their closer in David Bednar, granted with two outs in the most improbable outcome imaginable, and they did it on their home turf. It’s not so much that it’s the Yankees and that adds some extra juice as much as it’s the opponent and what wins like this mean for a team’s fabric and character.
Think about it for a second - they had lost 96 straight games when trailing after eight innings, dating back to 2024, until Sunday.
Maybe we aren’t buying in just yet, and that’s totally fine. One week doesn’t erase six or seven bad ones. But wins like that make the people in that room start to come together and believe, which can help build momentum and at the very least, stave off what was sure looking like a July fire sale.
The good part about the league’s playoff system is that it doesn’t take a lot for a team to go from a bottom feeder to a contender, especially this time of year when the standings are still quite volatile. Yes, the Mets are still 11.5 games out of first and seven games out of a Wild Card spot, but another good week, especially as they begin their divisional play, can change where they are in a hurry.
Again, I am not getting too excited here. There’s a lot to do, a lot that this club needs, and a 1-5 road trip through Washington and Miami can erase the goodwill they’ve built during May pretty easily. But perhaps a 5-1 road trip can get them back into the conversation as they head towards Memorial Day in a week, which is the first true mile marker for teams to assess who they are, where they are, and where they’re going.
So yeah, it’s a big week for these Mets, and a big opportunity to help save their 2026 season.
Perhaps this past weekend specifically was a first step in doing so? We shall see.
Around the League 🚩
Zach Wheeler allowed just four hits and a walk over seven shutout innings as they rolled over Paul Skenes and the Pirates 6-0
Rōki Sasaki allowed just four hits with no walks over seven shutout innings as the Dodgers blew away the Angels 10-1
The Giants posted an eight run eighth inning to steamroll the A’s 10-1
The upstart White Sox fended off the Cubs 9-8 thanks to three RBI a piece from Edgar Quero and Tristan Peters
The excitement seems generally to be from existing players, and the relief corps is being steady at the moment. The newbie bats/position players from outside the organization (and Peralta, honestly) aren't adding too much.
I don't even know if it is possible, but what I would think about doing is getting rid of at least one of the new bats and finding a team willing to (while eating some salary) to relinquish a starter. Holmes is out for the long term, and you have a bunch of short-stint starters.
Trying to rush a rookie or stretching out useful long relief options is robbing Peter to pay for Paul.
Anyway, they had a good week. Yesterday's game is likely to be a repeat player on the Mets' highlight games rotation.
The thing I noticed and then later heard Todd Ziele comment, a great sign is Soto showing some emotion by hugging Carson. Hopefully he is evolving into the team leader and mentor to his teammates.