Mets swept away in St. Louis thanks to ineffective pitching, poor situational hitting
Plus, with the pitching staff facing new uncertainties, how practical is it for the Mets to keep forcing a sixth starter right now?
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets disappointingly were swept in Sunday’s double header with the Cardinals, dropping a pair of one run games (Game 1 Box | Game 1 Highlights) (Game 2 Box | Game 2 Highlights)
RHP Blade Tidwell made his MLB debut in Game 1 and struggled, going just 3.2 innings and allowing six earned runs on nine hits and three walks
Luisangel Acuna started Game 1 at third base —before eventually moving to 2nd—and contributed three hits, a stolen base, and a run
Pete Alonso had two doubles put took a debatable strike three call in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and Mets down by one in what was the biggest at-bat of the game
Francisco Lindor had just one hit but drove in three runs in Game 1
Tylor Megill started in the night cap and was not overly impressive himself, allowing four runs on four hits, three walks, a hit batsman, six strikeouts, and a home run in five innings
Starling Marte collected a pair of hits and drove in two runs in game two
The biggest play in this game came in the 4th inning, when Victor Scott II went over the fence to rob Juan Soto of a three run homer
Scott made his presence felt again later, with a go ahead 7th inning double against Max Kranick that proved to be the difference
The story of game two though, and really the day in general was Cardinals righty Michael McGreevy, who entered a tie game with the bases loaded and one out in the 4th inning, and cruised through the next 5.2 innings while allowing just two baserunners and earning the win
The Mets went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position in Game 1, 3-for-11 in Game 2
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Blade Tidwell selected from Triple-A Syracuse for Game 1 start and optioned back following the game
RHP Dedniel Núñez recalled from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of Game 2
Injury Updates 🏥
OF Jesse Winker started Game 1 in left field but was forced to leave the game early due to right side discomfort and will have an MRI of his oblique area
LHP Danny Young (elbow strain) has been told he needs UCL reconstruction surgery in his left elbow
Plays of the Game 😢
In the eighth inning of Game 1 on Sunday, the Mets had pulled to within one run, loaded the bases with one out and had Pete Alonso at the plate. With a chance to at least tie the game if not take the lead, Alonso took a questionable called strike 3 which essentially squelched their chance to win the game:
In the fourth inning of Game 2, Victor Scott robbed Juan Soto of a three-run home run, one of several defensive gems on the part of St. Louis, to change the entire complexion of the game and help propel St. Louis to a doubleheader sweep:
Stat of the Day 📊
The Mets went a combined 6-for-26 with runners in scoring position in their doubleheader on Sunday. They are hitting just .229/.332/.399 with (70-for-306) with runners in scoring position so far in 2025, and .225/.329/.331 (32-for-142) with two outs and runners in scoring position
Down on the Farm 🌾
IF Donovan Walton (Triple-A): 2-for-4, HR, RBI, R
RHP Jonah Tong (No. 6 Prospect, Double-A): 4 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K
IF/OF Jacob Reimer (No. 20 Prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R
OF Jefrey De Los Santos (High-A): 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (22-13) @ Diamondbacks (18-16)
Where: Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ
Starters: RHP Griffin Canning (4-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. Ryne Nelson (1-0, 5.82 ERA)
When: 9:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
How practical is it for the Mets to keep trying to force a 6th starter?✍️
It’s no secret that whenever possible, the Mets would like to use a sixth starter. Going all the way back to spring training, David Stearns reiterated that they will be deploying a sixth starter when possible - or to be clearer, six rotation spots - in an effort to afford extra rest for their ever-evolving starting rotation.
Kodai Senga benefits mightily from an extra day of rest, but really, he is not alone. They’re still working to build up Clay Holmes as he continues his transition from reliever to starter, and they feel giving him extra rest is a part of that process. They also afforded Griffin Canning more rest, someone they’re hoping can continue to be more consistent under a more modern approach to his routine, which is partially why they pushed him out an extra day to pitch in Arizona this week (and opened the door for a sixth starter or a bullpen game on Sunday in St. Louis).
On a team that has aspirations of a deep October run this fall, keeping all of its starting rotation as fresh as possible and keeping miles off their arms is not a bad idea. I wholeheartedly agree with the organization’s view on the situation—eventually—but right now, it just feels over the top forced.
Later this season, when the team (hopefully) gets Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas back off the injured list—and maybe even when Paul Blackburn returns sooner than those two—the staff will have six legitimate options to take big league starts.
For the first few weeks, this wasn’t really an issue thanks to the extra off days built into the April schedule.
Lately, though, it just feels like the Mets are trying to force things a little bit with arms that don’t necessarily inspire a ton of confidence and throw way too many bullpen games in the process (some intended, some not). Last week, they brought journeyman lefty Brandon Waddell to the Majors to pitch in what ended up being a bulk role following opener Huascar Brazoban. To his credit, Waddell pitched well but was immediately shuttled back to Syracuse. And in the middle of all of this, they lost two key left-handed relievers and perhaps both for the rest of the year.
I realize they would have needed a starter anyway due to yesterday’s doubleheader, but long before Saturday’s game had been postponed, but again, the Mets had already committed to promoting righty Blade Tidwell to make his MLB debut. Tidwell is at least one of the Mets’ top young arms, but his first start was uninspiring, and he too immediately found himself demoted in between games of the doubleheader.
Unless they’re willing to promote their top overall prospect—Brandon Sproat—and commit to giving him a regular turn in the Major League rotation, the minor league options for filling this role kind of are what they are at this point.
Fortunately, the Mets are off every Thursday for the remainder of the month of May, which could help mitigate the short-term need for an extra arm, but in the longer scope, like I mentioned earlier, I really don’t know that a full six-man rotation is going to work until the team gets some of its more important pitchers back from the injured list.
Around the League 🚩
Xander Bogaerts homered and drive in three runs in the Padres 4-0 shutout win in Pittsburgh
Former Met Harrison Bader delivered a go-ahead double in the 8th to help lead the Twins past the Red Sox 5-4
Taj Bradley fired 5.1 strong innings and earned the win in the Rays 7-5 win in the Bronx
Freddy Peralta struck out seven across six shutout innings as the Brewers defeated the Cubs 4-0
Vientos has repeatedly now failed to even advance runners in scoring position--never mind getting a hit to score them
I know we scored runs but our hitting with RISP was bad. Could have easily won both games. I agree with the pitchers. Tidwell was very disappointing. Just go with 5 and tell Senga to man up until Manaea or Montes is back.