Mets pummel the Nationals again as something special could be brewing in Flushing
The Mets pounded out ten more runs and 17 hits against Washington on Tuesday
Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month from your friends here at Just Mets!
What’s Up with the Mets? 🏳️🌈
The Mets pummeled the Nationals on Tuesday night, shutting out the Nationals 10-0 at Citi Field (box)
The Mets now have a 10.5 game lead in the National League East - it’s tied with the 1971 Giants for the largest lead in National League history on June 1 and are behind only the 2001 Mariners (14) and 2017 Astros (11) for the largest leads on June 1 in MLB history (Athletic)
RHP Trevor Williams started for the Mets and allowed just three hits and two walks over five scoreless innings
Mark Canha had the biggest day for the Mets at the plate, plating two runs and scoring twice with a 4-for-5 effort - the four hits were a career-high
Francisco Lindor had two more RBI, Jeff McNeil had himself a three-hit night - his 18th multi-hit game of the year - and Canha, JD Davis, Eduardo Escobar and Luis Guillorme all had multi-hit nights
Drew Smith returned after dislocating his right pinky on Sunday with 1.2 IP of scoreless relief, joining the rest of the bullpen in allowing just three hits and a walk over four innings
The Mets are now 34-17 on the year, on-pace for 108 wins in 2022. They have a +72 run differential, are 13-2-1 in series, have a league-leading eight shutouts, they are 18-7 against the National League East, 25-3 when scoring five or more runs, 30-9 when the starter goes at least innings, are 18-8 at home and finished the month of May with a 19-10 record
Roster Moves 📰
Optioned 1B/OF Dominic Smith to Triple-A Syracuse (story)
Recalled RHP Adonis Media from Triple-A Syracuse
Who’s Hot 🔥
Francisco Lindor has recorded an RBI in nine straight games, tying him with Bobby Bonilla (1994) and Edgardo Alfonzo (2002) for the third-longest RBI streak in club history - he has 19 RBI in those nine games and drove in 28 during the month of May
Luis Guillorme hit .414 in May and has multiple hits in seven of his last eight starts
Starling Marte is hitting .344/.364/.583 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs and 13 RBI since May 2
Jeff McNeil is hitting .339/.373/.536 with 12 RBI and 10 runs scored over his last 15 games
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (34-17) vs Nationals (18-33)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Carlos Carrasco (5-1, 3.98 ERA) vs LHP Evan Lee (MLB debut)
When: 1:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network
Maybe something is brewing in Flushing…📝
While I was watching last night’s game and observing how well the Mets offense was functioning, I was trying to determine the last time the club was this good.
Sure, they have had stretches over the years where they score a lot of runs, are lights out on the mound, have gone on a long winning streak here or there, but there’s a difference in having those short bursts where one or two areas of their game were carrying them on a wave (which we all know dies when it reaches the shore), and a run of sustained overall command of the game utilizing all facets to win on a regular basis.
Those bursts were merely fools gold, as their final records in most of those years past would indicate.
The last time, I believe, was that magical run in 2015 down the stretch of that season. But again, it was a short-lived burst where everything was going well and deep into October at that. Hey, a pennant is a pennant and these days especially it seems the hottest teams are the ones at the dance. But that year was up-and-down too as we all remember, starting out 13-3 and then coughing it all up by the middle of June before fielding a team which included Eric Campbell and John Mayberry, Jr. in the middle of a batting order against Clayton Kershaw in the middle of July (yeah, that still pisses me off seven years later).
The last full season the Mets had a team like this may have been 2006, 16 years ago. That was a 97-win team if you recall and of course, we never like to talk about the way it ended. Every time Adam Wainwright has pitched against them since or Yadier Molina merely gets on-base against them, I am reminded by somebody about the 2006 National League Championship Series. But that was a special team none the less which never lost more than four games in a row (did it once in the middle of June) and not only cruised their way to a division title, but took pretty much the entire league to school from game 1 all the way through 162 - they had a winning record against every National League opponent that year.
Then there was the 1999 season, another 97-win team which I place higher than their pennant-winning 2000 season but it also had it’s share of wild inconsistency. Heading into play on June 6, 1999 at Yankee Stadium, the Mets were a game under .500 and really were underachieving heading into that Subway Series affair against the mighty Yankees. The Mets then axed a large portion of their coaching staff and then-manager Bobby Valentine called for his own head if the Mets didn’t go on a 40-15 run. So, that’s exactly what they did. That run combined with the 29 wins which followed (we won’t talk about the seven game losing streak in September which nearly destroyed that season) was nothing I had seen in my adult life to that point.
Then of course there was 1986, which at this point might be the closest comparison to the 2022 Mets, at least statistically. The Mets have a commanding lead heading into June now (10.5 game lead), similar to the one they had that year. They are actually scoring runs at a higher rate this year (5.2) than they did in 1986 (4.8). They are on pace for the same number of wins they finished with in 1986 (108). They are a multi-faceted group capable of winning with their pitching, bat-to-ball skills, power, baserunning, speed and defense, just like they did in 1986. And they always seem to come up with a big performance from someone you wouldn’t expect it from - in last night’s case it was Trevor Williams who gave the Mets quality and badly-needed length, Luis Guillorme who was a utility player once-upon-a-time and is now a legitimate All-Star contender, and then of course there’s the Nick Plummer experience among many others (Tylor Megill deserves to be in this conversation too, but he’s hurt).
The most amazing part about this club though is they’re doing all of this having netted just eighth starts combined from Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. What could this team possibly look like with those two competing for them (hopefully) in July?
Look - I am not saying these are the 1986 Mets. There is only one team like the 1986 Mets, and that is the 1986 Mets for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is they actually won 108 games and actually won the World Series. There were also other things that made them unique which need not mentioning. I’m not even saying these are the 1999 Mets, 2000 Mets, 2006 Mets, or 2015 Mets, either.
There is a long way to go here too. Don’t get me wrong.
Mind you, these were different teams, different times, different games and honestly, with the exception of 2015, so long ago that it’s truly impossible to line them up side by side to see how they compare. The 1986 team in particular is on it’s own pedestal not just in Mets history, but in baseball history.
But 1986 was also their last championship season, that which the Mets are seeking again in 2022. Maybe something is brewing in Flushing again?
These Mets in 2022 are writing their own unique story, one which we can’t see the ending of just yet. But it’s certainly one of both guile and might combined with hope and perseverance. They’re in a stretch right now where their offense is unstoppable and literally everything is coming up aces on both sides of the ball. But they’ve also had stretches where they’ve had to ride their pitching staff and use their cohesiveness and belief in themselves to scratch out comeback wins. For as many good days as they’ve had before and will have again, there will be the frustrating and disappointing days which are unavoidable over the course of 162 games for any club. But they’ve proven that even after the most difficult of days they have an ability to rise to the occasion the next day and prevent them from snowballing into losing streaks.
After all, they’ve lost two in a row just twice this season and haven’t endured a three-game losing streak yet.
Starting tomorrow, the Mets will have a chance to see how they measure up against the established best when they fly west to face the Dodgers. It will be a new test with a new opportunity to see what they can be against that establishment and perhaps demonstrate they are actually a loud echo of their past.
And who can’t be excited for this test for the Mets right now?
Down on the Farm 🌾
Mark Vientos (3B, No. 4 Prospect, Triple-A): 3-for-4, BB, RBI, R
Omar De Los Santos (DH/OF, Single-A): 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
JT Schwartz (1B, No. 19 Prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 3B, 4 RBI
Box Scores: Triple-A | Double-A (Off) | High-A | Single-A
Around the League 🚩
Albert Pujols drove in the winning run in the 10th inning of the Cardinals 3-2 win over the Padres at Busch Stadium on Tuesday
The Yankees plated four runs against Noah Syndergaard in the first inning of their 9-1 rout of the Angels in the Bronx
The Rangers got to .500 with a 3-0 shutout of the Rays in Arlington
Super rookie Wander Franco was placed on the injured list with a strained quad
Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the Diamondbacks started a comeback over the Braves and walked them off with an 8-7 victory in the tenth inning in Phoenix
Phillies 2B Jean Segura fractured his finger in another difficult loss against the Giants