Mets show a lot of character in their big win over the D-Backs on Tuesday
The Mets put up a six-spot in the fifth inning as they cruised to their first win in a season-critical series against the Diamondbacks
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets bounced back and defeated the Diamondbacks 8-3 on Tuesday night (box)
Sean Manaea once again pitched well for the Mets, allowing homers to Lourdes Gurriel Jr (solo) and Corbin Carroll (two-run) in the seventh inning, fanning 11 with no walks over 6.2 IP
The Mets put up a six-spot in the fifth inning - Francisco Álvarez singled home Jeff McNeil after a leadoff double, Mark Vientos drove in Álvarez with an RBI single, Jesse Winker plated Francisco Lindor on a sac fly, Brandon Nimmo scored after Tyrone Taylor was hit by a pitch, McNeil drove in a run on a walk, and Geraldo Perdomo allowed JD Martínez to score on an error
Pete Alonso homered in the second inning, his 220th of his career to tie Mike Piazza for third all-time in franchise history
Phil Maton, Danny Young and Adam Ottavino shut the door for the Mets out of the bullpen, combining for 1.2 shutout innings
Playoff Race 🏁
With their win over the Diamondbacks, the Mets pulled to within six games of Arizona on Tuesday night. They were unable to gain ground on either the Padres or the Braves, as they both won their games.
As such, the Mets remained six games behind the Padres for the second wild card, three games behind the Braves for the third wild card.
There are 30 games remaining.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 18.5% chance of making the postseason.
New York has the 14th easiest schedule in MLB the rest of the way.
Tiebreakers:
vs. ATL: 5-5
vs. ARI: 3-2
vs. SD: 5-2 (finished)
vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)
vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)
Who’s Hot 🔥
Francisco Lindor extended his on-base streak on Tuesday to 25 games after he went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. He is hitting .333/.374/.565 with eight doubles, a triple, five home runs, 15 RBI, 36 hits, seven walks and 19 runs scored during that span.
Over his last 34 games, Pete Alonso is hitting .264/.366/.536 with seven doubles, nine home runs and 21 RBI with 19 runs scored and 18 walks
In 36 games since July 12, Jeff McNeil is hitting .294/.363/.580 with 35 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBI and 21 runs scored
Down on the Farm 🌾
INF Luisangel Acuña (#12 prospect, Triple-A): 4-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB
INF Ryan Clifford (#4 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
LHP Felipe De La Cruz (High-A): 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K
OF Carson Benge (#5 prospect, Low-A): 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R (1st pro HR)
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (69-63) vs. D-backs (75-57)
Where: Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ
Starters: RHP Luis Severino (9-6, 3.84 ERA) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.94 ERA)
When: 9:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
One thing is for sure - the Mets have a lot of character… ✍️
The good thing about the faster pace of these ballgames - and that many of them are starting before 7 PM now - is that folks on the east coast can watch more of the Mets when they’re on the west coast.
Even if it means staying up a little bit later than we might normally do during the work or school week.
That matters when the Mets are playing games of such import. At least for us.
If you were up before 11 PM, you probably got to witness the Mets six-run outburst against the white-hot Diamondbacks on Tuesday. You also got to witness Pete Alonso’s second inning home run, which tied him with Mike Piazza for third on the all-time franchise list.
But you also got to witness a Met team that showed a lot of character and grit after what could easily be termed as the worst and most critical loss of the season on Sunday afternoon in San Diego.
Character and grit may not matter that much in the end. What matters of course is the Mets capitalizing on every last opportunity they have and winning every single one of the winnable games they play down the stretch of the season.
They didn’t do that on Sunday. But they did do that on Tuesday and at a minimum, kept pace with the Braves, who all of a sudden aren’t losing despite a very broken roster on a daily basis.
The Mets may not make the playoffs in 2024. The deck is stacked against them the rest of the way. Much of that is their own doing, some of that is the schedule. But for those of us who have been around a while, I think we can all appreciate that at a minimum, this team - as flawed as they might be - has shown a lot of guts in 2024 and strictly from a cultural perspective, they have something to move this train forward with into 2025 and beyond.
Just think about what this team has been through this season.
They started 0-5 only to finish 15-13 in March/April, which means they won 15 of their final 23 games during that stretch. Then came May which, if the Mets do not make the playoffs, will ultimately be the determine cause for them coming up short. They went 9-19, the sky was falling on them and all anyone could talk about was not if the Mets were going to sell at the trade deadline, but how much they would get, specifically for pending free agent Pete Alonso (who, and I stand by this today, the Mets still need to retain on a long-term contract).
That is when I think we all saw the cultural shift in action.
Mets President of Baseball Operations (he’s the GM here too, btw, even if some might look the other way when I say that) turned over four players on the roster on May 30, brought up what can only be considered as the season’s godsend in José Iglesias, and the Mets transformation from both a cultural and accountability perspective was in motion.
It showed me - as someone who has witnessed far too much patience with fractional players over the years - the players in that room are going to be held accountable for their performances and that losing to such a degree will not be welcomed with this franchise any longer. I was happy to see that as both a fan and someone who has written about this team for what is now coming up on my 16th full season.
From there, the Mets had the best record in baseball for about a 60-day period. Yes, there were and probably are some players here playing way above their pay grades and that’s totally fine. Good teams with good cultures tend to have players like that on a year-to-year basis. This team, in a way, has resembled a lot of what the Dodgers and Rays are from that perspective as they’ve been able to maximize a lot of what they have while being able to protect their weaknesses, once again demonstrating a cultural shift from previous years.
Tyrone Taylor, Harrison Bader, and Iglesias are all examples of that and all players who have and will continue to help keep the Mets relevant in 2024, even if they ultimately don’t make it to the playoffs.
The alternative to that, as we have seen time and time again around here, are players who get way overexposed and ultimately play under their pay grades, even as part-time players.
Make no mistake - it doesn’t make games like they had on Sunday - a far too common occurrence for the Mets - anymore acceptable. In the end, they’re here to win and they’ve demonstrated despite all the naysayers (perhaps myself included) they’re a contender in 2024.
And nope, contenders don’t lose Sunday’s game. Or get swept by Seattle (scoring one run in the process - yes, that’s still pissing me off), or lose a series to the city-less A’s, or have 12 losses when leading after seven innings.
But they’re 69-63 with 30 games to go. That’s definitely better than I thought they’d be by this point, albeit just by a little bit. They have an entertaining roster, they have a legit MVP candidate, they can hit, their starting pitching has improved as has their bullpen.
Carlos Mendoza deserves a lot of credit for what’s transpired here. His calm, measured demeanor has helped keep the Mets afloat this season despite the extreme ups and downs this team has experienced. No, not every decision has been agreeable, but his performance will largely be measured by his leadership and his ability to both manage and control the room, which he has done masterfully in his first season as a manager.
He is unquestionably a manager of the year candidate, especially if the Mets sneak into the playoffs this season.
Stearns had to start somewhere. And no matter what happens in 2024, I think this is a very positive step and if nothing else, a destination for future Met Juan Soto this winter.
Perhaps they have one more push in them to get over the hump and overtake Atlanta. They will have three more cracks at them and if they are within three games of them by the time they get to Truist Park, that will be the series of the year.
Just get in. Everything else from there is gravy in 2024.
Around the League 🚩
The Braves blew a 4-0 lead, but then scored four in the 10th inning to outlast the Twins 8-6 at Target Field
The Padres came from behind to beat the Cardinals 7-5 at Busch Stadium, overcoming another sluggish start from Dylan Cease
Patrick Corbin out pitched Gerrit Cole as the Nationals beat the Yankees 4-2 in Washington
The Royals beat the Guardians 6-1, tying them for first place in the AL Central
Only a limited number of teams, even with expanded wild cards, get to the playoffs.
Everyone else should play good ball too. The Tigers are having a run. It won't get them to the playoffs unless something very unlikely happens. But it shows character.
Non-playoff teams usually fail because of lack of consistency. They can wow and depress in the same series. The Mets are like that. At some point, you have to enjoy the game. Yesterday had that though some might have started to get a bit nervous in the 7th.
Montgomery also showed some character. He managed to get past a bad first inning & pitch 4.1 and save the pen. The Mets pen did that too in the game that Blackburn left. The game was lost but the B team finished the game, saving the good arms.
Last night was fun to watch....at least until the 6th when I went to bed.