Mets drop second straight after losing series opener to Giants
José Quintana and the offense both struggled on a frustrating night. Plus, just how real are these current Mets?
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped their second straight game after losing the opening game of the series to the Giants by a score of 5-2 (box)
LHP José Quintana struggled on the mound, giving up five earned runs on seven hits with three walks while striking out four in five innings of work
1B Pete Alonso crushed his seventh home run of the year - and the 199th of his career - in the top of the fifth to give New York some life
The offense struggled for the second consecutive game, managing just four hits all game - they’ve been outscored 15-2 in their last two games
Former Met Michael Conforto crushed a home run in the bottom of the sixth as the Giants got timely hits in big spots
Roster Moves 🗞️
RHP Grant Hartwig was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Michael Tonkin was designated for assignment
RHP Sean Reid-Foley was reinstated from the injured list
LHP Josh Walker was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
Down on the Farm 🌾
J.D. Martinez will DH for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday and Wednesday this week
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (12-10) at Giants (11-13)
Where: Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
Starters: RHP Luis Severino (2-1, 2.14 ERA) vs. RHP Logan Webb (2-1, 2.93 ERA)
When: 9:45 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
How real are these current red hot Mets? ✍️
The surging New York Mets are one of the most talked about teams in Major League Baseball right now.
And for good reason.
After starting the season 0-5, the Mets had bounced back emphatically to go 12-3 and win six straight before being blown out 10-0 by the Dodgers on Sunday and then dropping the series opener to the Giants on Monday. They went and took two from three against a juggernaut LA team, and they’ve had literally no cupcakes during this current hot streak.
Of course, the one burning question doing the rounds throughout the baseball world right now is if the Mets are for real. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic gave reasons for why this team could be real, and reasons why this hot start might be just that and nothing else.
So, naturally, that got me thinking. Just how legit are the 2024 New York Mets?
It is a loaded question, with no real easy answers this early into the season.
However, one thing I do know is that I don’t believe this team is as bad as the one that began the year 0-5. Whatever happens here on out, I don’t believe the floor will be that low. I mean, Francisco Lindor is now getting back to the elite player he has shown throughout his career, Starling Marte looks fully healthy and there are just too many good players in that lineup for the Mets to be one of the worst teams in baseball.
That awful start was just a one-off horror show.
However, on the flip side, I also don’t believe that this team, as currently constituted, will be this good for the duration of 2024. I just don’t. I’m sorry. And I have a laundry list of legitimate reasons to doubt they can keep up this current pace.
Recall, I wrote about what is likely to be this kind of rollercoaster season in 2024 earlier this month.
For starters, regression to the means is a real thing and I don’t see Tyrone Taylor being as big a offensive contributor over a full 162-game season as he’s been over the first 20 or so games. I don’t think Harrison Bader will continue to hit .308. I think there will be a drop-off to Jose Buttó’s game, and I’m also not convinced that Reed Garrett will continue to perform as the best reliever in baseball.
On the subject of the bullpen, I’m worried that what we’re seeing right now is simply not sustainable.
With the best bullpen ERA in the NL (2.95) heading into Monday’s game, this group of relievers have exceeded all expectations thus far. However, the bullpen has been relied on a lot with the starters consistently unable to go deep into games. At some point, the dam is going to burst and the bullpen is going to implode from the pressure. We could see some cracks start to appear coming up with Brooks Raley out for at least a couple of weeks with elbow inflammation.
That is a big blow.
As far as the starting rotation goes, the current results are also not sustainable. We knew as far back as the offseason that there was a hell of a lot of boom or bust potential with this group, and that’s playing out right now. Adrian Houser (7.45 ERA) has not been good, and each starter has had a couple of really ugly starts. Case in point: José Quintana gave up five runs on seven hits while walking three against the Giants on Monday. It also remains to be seen just how effective Kodai Senga is, if and when the ace returns. The general school of thought going into the year was that this rotation would be the team’s downfall and, based on what we’ve seen so far, despite having one of the best ERA’s in baseball, I think that will prove to be the case come September.
When you consider that Mets starters already tossed 103 2/3 innings heading into Monday, and the bullpen worked 85 1/3, while having a league-high 11.7 percent walk rate ( the Mets’ 4.57 BB/9 IP was the highest rate in MLB entering Monday), then there are plenty of red flags there for all to see when it comes to this team’s pitching and its long-term sustainability.
Add into the mix a defense that has simply not been good to start the year, coupled with an inability to throw out base stealers and stop the running game (the Mets were a major league-worst 0-for-28 before that streak was snapped on Sunday), then there is a laundry list of reasons to question if what we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks is real over a much bigger sample size.
Of course, Pete Alonso will keep on mashing and Lindor is only going to keep on improving. Phenom catcher Francisco Álvarez will hopefully be back at some point this summer too. As will Senga. And Edwin Díaz looks like vintage Edwin Díaz, and is pitching like it too. All of those things will at least keep things interesting and ensure the Mets are in the Wild Card race right down to the wire.
I just don’t think they will keep being this good. They’re going to need help.
But, for now, all we can do is keep on enjoying the ride and hope the fun times we’ve been treated to recently stay for as long as possible.
We’ll worry about everything else if and when it gets here.
Around the League 🚩
The 3-19 White Sox became the first team in MLB history to be shut out eight times in their first 22 games after being blown out 7-0 by the Twins
2B Zack Gelof hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the ninth as the A’s beat the Yankees, 2-0, at Yankee Stadium
LHP Tarik Skubal tossed an absolute gem, not allowing a run on just three hits with no walks while striking out nine as the Tigers beat the Rays, 7-1
C Travis d’Arnaud hit his fifth home run in just eight at-bats as the Braves shutout the Marlins, 3-0
INF Nolan Gorman crushed a walk-off two-run homer as the Cardinals beat the D-backs, 5-3