Mets win important rubber game with LA as they enter a softer part of the schedule

The Mets will play nine of their next 13 games against the White Sox and Rockies, making it integral they soak up this part of the schedule

Image courtesy of the Mets

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets beat the Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball by the score of 3-1 (Box)

• RHP Kodai Senga was vulnerable in the first inning when he allowed a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani, but settled in to give the Mets 5.1 innings while allowing just a run on five hits, four walks, and five strikeouts.

• Pete Alonso crushed a two-run bomb in the bottom of the first that as it turned out would give the Mets the lead for good

• Ryne Stanek, Max Kranick, and Reed Garrett combined to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to secure the win

• Juan Soto did not have a hit in the game, but did drive in a run and steal a base

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Play of the Game 🌟

This could have gone a couple different directions, but I think a play that happened very early needs to be the selection.

After Shohei Ohtani had homered to start the game, the Dodgers looked poised to put up a big number in the top of the first when Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman set up 2nd and 3rd and nobody out. Will Smith then lifted a fly ball to center field, that Tyrone Taylor caught and then gunned Betts down at the plate trying to score. That play allowed Senga to settle in, and the Mets to avoid getting knocked on their heels.

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Home Cooking! 🧑🏻‍🍳

• The Mets are now 19-6 at home, tied for their best start at home with the 2015 and 2021 teams

• Their .760 winning percentage at home is the highest mark in the majors

• Mets pitchers have recorded a 2.43 ERA (62 ER/230.0 IP) at home this season, which is the second-best mark in the majors this season only trailing the Padres (2.36 ERA)

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Stats of the day 📊

• Their 32-21 record is tied for the sixth-best start to the season in franchise history, joining the 1971, ‘72, ‘86, ‘88, 2006, ‘07 and ‘22 Mets as the only Mets teams to record as many wins through their first 53 games

• They are 23-12 (.657) against National League teams this season, the second-best winning percentage among National League teams

• The Mets have won each of their 14 games when holding their opponent to one run or less

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Brandon Sproat (No. 2 Prospect, Triple-A): 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 K

• 3B Jesus Baez (No. 7 Prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 3 RBI

• OF Carson Benge (No. 3 Prospect, High-A): 2-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (32-21) vs. White Sox (17-36)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: RHP Clay Holmes (5-3, 3.13 ERA) vs. RHP Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

When: 4:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Now is the time for the Mets to take advantage of the schedule…✍️

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Mets just completed a gauntlet of a stretch where they played 12 of 15 games against the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers. They survived the last few weeks just fine, going 8-7, but with the Phillies enjoying the soft part of their schedule, Philadelphia was able to leapfrog the Mets into first place in the NL East.

Now it’s the Mets’ turn to return the favor.

After securing a much-needed win in their rubber game with the Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball, the Mets will try to get a quick night’s sleep before opening a stretch of games they simply have to dominate later this afternoon.

Nine of New York’s next 13 games are against the White Sox and the Rockies (with a four-game series against the Dodgers sandwiched in between). Those two clubs enter play on Monday with a combined 26-80 record. Chicago set a new Major League record for losses in a single season a year ago. Colorado may well break that mark here in 2025.

In a long baseball season, there are going to be ebbs and flows. Consistency is the one thing all clubs seek, but staying locked in and at the top of your game is impossible over the course of a six-month grind.

But there are times when letting the foot off the gas and slipping up is just not an option.

It would be a legitimate problem and disappointment if the Mets did not win at least seven of their nine contests with the Major League cellar dwellers, and it’s simply imperative they use this opportunity to pull themselves back even or above the Phillies in the division. The Braves are getting healthier and after a slow start have climbed back into relevance. We know the Phillies are going to be in this for the long haul, and the NL East in many ways is shaping up right now to be the three-horse fight it was predicted to be.

The Mets have gone 17-11 against teams under .500 this season. That record seems a little light considering they’ve been one of the best teams in baseball, so again, this two weeks stretch is an opportunity to fatten their record up before they hit a part of the schedule when they’ll be playing their biggest rivals in the division a lot - they have seven games against the Braves in June, three against the Phillies and three against the upstart Nationals.

It’s not going to be easy as summer begins for the Mets. But they’ve proven they’re up for the challenge despite the ups and downs with their offense.

The Mets have as talented a roster and as good a chance to win the division as either of their two rivals, but it’s times like the next two weeks where wins really need to be pocketed.

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Around the League 🚩

• LHP Tarik Skubal fired a complete game two hitter with 13 punchouts in the Tigers 5-0 win over the Guardians

• Christian Walker crushed a walk-off two run homer to lift Houston to a 5-3 victory over Seattle

• Jacob Wilson had three hits including a homer in the A’s 5-4 home win over the Phillies

• Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth both homered in the Padres 5-3 win in Atlanta