Money came up money as the Mets earned their biggest comeback win in 2025
Plus, Clay Holmes' wear and tear is starting to show which is another reason the Mets need to find a starting pitcher
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What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets made their biggest comeback of the year on Tuesday night, rallying from four runs down to beat the Orioles 7-6 in Baltimore (Box)
Down 6-2 in the eighth, the Mets got a pair of two-run home runs from Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso to tie the game up at 6-6
Juan Soto plated the go ahead run in the tenth, and thanks to stellar work from Huascar Brazoban in the bottom of the inning, the Mets were able to hold on and steal a win from the Orioles
Clay Holmes struggled over five innings, especially in the sixth when he allowed four runs, but the Mets bullpen allowed just one run over the final five innings of the game
Alex Carrillo made his big league debut on Monday, and allowed a run in 1.1 IP
The Mets are now tied with the Phillies for first place in the NL East
Who’s Hot? 🥵
Over his last 39 games, Brandon Nimmo is hitting .311/.370/.563 with eight doubles, 10 home runs, 26 RBI with 11 walks, 47 hits and 24 runs scored
Over his last 35 games, Juan Soto is hitting .341/.474/.699 with five doubles, 13 home runs, 27 RBI with 30 walks, 42 hits and 32 runs scored
Over his last 40 games, Pete Alonso is hitting .288/.370/.582 with nine doubles, 12 home runs, 37 RBI with 13 walks, 44 hits and 23 runs scored
Play of the Game 🌟
With the Mets down 6-2 in the eighth inning, the Mets scored four runs to tie the game thanks to a pair of two run home runs - one from Francisco Lindor and the other from Pete Alonso.
The two home runs helped the Mets mount their biggest comeback win of the year. It was the first time in 2025 they had come back from four runs down to win a game and just their fifth win when trailing after seven innings.
Down on the Farm 🌾
INF David Villar (Triple-A): 1-for-4, grand slam, 4 RBI
INF Ryan Clifford (no. 7 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-6, 2 HR, 7 RBI (Grand Slam)
RHP Will Watson (High-A): 3 IP, 1 BB, 5 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (53-39) at Orioles (40-50)
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore, MD
Starters: LHP David Peterson (6-4, 3.18 ERA) vs. RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (6-5, 4.44 ERA)
When: 7:05 PM EDT
Where to Watch: ESPN
Thoughts on Clay Holmes’ usage, and money coming up money for the Mets… ✍️
Tuesday night’s game may be one of those games on the baseball calendar you’re going to want to circle.
It was looking like more of the same for the Mets as Clay Holmes allowed a crooked number in the fifth thanks to an ineffective slider. It’s been one crooked number allowed after the next over the last month, which has been plaguing the Mets and their pitching staff, and they were down big once again, seemingly headed towards another loss thanks to the same old story.
But on this night, the top of the Mets order wouldn’t have any of that.
For on this night, the Mets would instead persevere and mount their biggest comeback win of the season thanks to a pair of big bops from two of their biggest hitters.
Francisco Lindor crushed a two-run homer to center, which got the Mets back within two. Then, after Juan Soto recorded his second of three hits on the night, Pete Alonso went the other way for another two-run homer, and just like that, it was 6-6, and the tables were turned on the Orioles.
The Mets went on to win in the tenth inning thanks to another big hit from Soto, his third of the night, which would prove to be the game-winning RBI.
As I wrote yesterday, there was no reason to expect anything different with the pitching. They’ve struggled, they’ve been non-competitive at times during this stretch as well. And with Holmes specifically, perhaps we are starting to see the wear and tear portion of his transition from starter to reliever.
That’s not to say Carlos Mendoza should have lifted him after the fourth inning. The Mets obviously need length from their starters, and whatever the case is with Holmes’ innings, in the end, he needed to give the Mets five effective innings at a minimum on Tuesday. But he’s also thrown a career-high 98.1 innings in 2025, and that could be a reason why we are seeing some ups and downs from Holmes with his stuff as of late.
This is where the Mets coaching staff will be challenged to figure out how to get Holmes through the remainder of the year. It’s not going to be easy giving him extra rest outside of All-Star Week, especially between August 19 and September 4 when there are no off-days.
That in part is why they need to find an extra starting pitcher ahead of the trade deadline. Sure, they need to improve their overall effectiveness, but they need to maintain Holmes, need to figure out how to keep Kodai Senga healthy once he gets back, and load manage everyone else on top of it.
Anyway, onto the good vibes which were in the eighth inning for the Mets.
The game sure looked lost, although the Mets couldn’t have been set up any better with the top of the order coming up in the eighth inning. Even so, it’s always hard for a club to come back from four runs down, which is in part why the Mets hadn’t done that to-date in 2025, until Tuesday night.
And they got to a pretty good reliever in Bryan Baker too.
The thing is, the top of the order for the Mets is as formidable as there is in the game. They have four players with at least 50 RBI in that top of the lineup in Alonso (75), Lindor (51), Brandon Nimmo (53), and Juan Soto (52). The only other teams in the game that have four players with 50 or more RBI are the Cubs and the Dodgers. A lot of that is truly attributed to Soto’s presence and his ability to get on-base. He has single-handedly changed the dimension and the opportunities for this lineup, and that presence probably helped make the difference for the Mets on Tuesday night as well.
It’s the rest of the lineup behind those front four which is really a major problem. Sure, Jeff McNeil has been solid, Ronny Mauricio is showing some positive signs outside of some significant mental mistakes, but 6-9 on most nights is an abyss and generally free innings for the other team.
The good news is, the Mets front office knows that too. So, I am looking forward to seeing how they address those problems in the coming weeks.
Anyway, I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer credit to both Lindor and Alonso for not taking advantage of their opportunities in the eighth. So often this club has struggled to produce that big hit or those big hits, but the money players did their thing to pick up Holmes, overcome a big deficit, and get this road trip off to a good start.
Around the League 🚩
Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run with 12 strikeouts over six innings in the Brewers 3-1 win over the Dodgers
Cal Raleigh hit his 36th home run, but the Mariners were warped by the Yankees 10-3
The Blue Jays extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 6-1 win over the White Sox
Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off inside-the-park three-run home run as the Giants edged the Phillies 4-3
The Mets have the bats to have big innings and should have the ability to come back from four runs down. MLB pitching is suspect enough. I constantly see crooked numbers (six or more runs) in innings, sometimes with good teams giving them up.
The Mets have two key arms coming back this week. Knock on wood. If they are healthy, that should allow Mendoza to limit Clay's innings more. Let Clay pitch five.
A sixth starter would be nice -- Megill's IL stint has been extended. Who trusts Blackburn? They are trying a bunch of arms to see if they can be reliable mid-game relief. Some are showing some potential.
Hey they gave him a shot to be a starter, and maybe the Yanks were right ( I hate to say it), Maybe he is a reliever and a spot starter. I never believed Soto would not prtoduce, he needed to find his place in a new environment. His history shows that he will adapt, and look what we have for years. Take that Michael Kay! I think Rich might have hit it yesterday, Mauricio might be the answer at 3b. Things look different after a few stale weeks, and are on the upswing. Get a starter that takes the ball every 5th day and gives 6-7 innings and we might be on our way!