What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets finished off a sweep of the Nationals with a 4-3 win at Citi Field on Sunday (box)
RHP Christian Scott started for the Mets and allowed three earned runs over 6.1 IP - he has allowed three earned runs or less in 16 of his 18 starts this season
C Luis Torrens hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give the Mets the lead - it was his sixth of the year and his fourth in his last seven games
3B Bo Bichette had three hits including his second triple of the season, and 1B Jared Young drove in the difference making run with a double in the fifth
The Mets new bullpen was lockdown again – Nate Lavender, Daniel Duarte and Kodai Senga combined for 2.2 innings of scoreless relief
Play of the Game ⭐️
The biggest hit of the game for the Mets turned out to be Jared Young’s RBI double in the fifth inning to plate the Mets’ fourth run of the day on Sunday, proving to be the difference in their 4-3 win over the Nationals.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
On the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Rich flew solo and recapped the Mets 4-2 week against the Braves and the Nationals, and talked about their ability to compete with a lot of this group in 2027.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
INF Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 1-for-4, HR
RHP Jonah Tong (No. 5 prospect, Triple-A): 4.2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
INF Marco Vargas (Double-A): 4-for-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
LHP Daviel Hurtado (High-A): 7 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K
OF Kuhio Aloy (Single-A): 2-for-4, 2 HR
The Mets promoted No. 3 prospect Elian Peña to High-A Brooklyn on Sunday.
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR G1 | G2
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (55-69) vs. Padres (66-58)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Nolan McLean (8-8, 3.42 ERA) vs. RHP Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
There are good things happening in this lost season for the Mets ✍️
It would’ve been nice if the Mets had been doing these good things on the field for the first four months of the season, wouldn’t it?
There have been so many good things that have happened for the Mets over the last two weeks, during which they’ve put together a 9-3 run and have served as a spoiler of sorts for many of those who are contending. It makes almost no sense whatsoever why the team, as it was constructed before August 3, couldn’t have performed as well as they have since August 3. Francisco Lindor has been outstanding, as has Bo Bichette, both of whom we’d expect to be excellent given their track record.
But they were either anything but excellent, absent, or both over the first four months of the season, although Bichette has been really good since mid-May individually and has been pretty impressive defensively at third as well all year.
There are other reasons, and other big reasons why the Mets were about 20 games under .500 for the first four months of the year, and many of those reasons or issues have been resolved, which is why they are 15-12 since the All-Star Game.
There’s no reason to rehash any of that. We have beaten all of that up time and time again since the 12-game losing streak in April. There are still a lot of problems which need resolutions this winter, including but not limited to finding a field manager and potentially an entirely new dugout staff which will kick things off for this organization in October.
Of course, Andy Green should be a candidate until he officially takes himself out of the running at the end of the year. He has been outstanding, he has connected with this group, he is arguably getting them to overachieve in many areas, he is clearly a very good player’s manager and has a firm understanding of what is here, what’s in the minors, and what all of those players can offer this organization collectively, and that is something they won’t be able to find no matter who they land on if it isn’t Green this winter.
At any rate, we can discuss that later.
Now look - I am not getting my hopes up for anything with this team. They are way, way out of it, they’re not really making up a lot of ground despite their 9-3 run, and despite how good this group looks right now. They buried themselves deep underground early on. Even if the Mets go 30-7 the rest of the way, that would only get them to 86 wins and right now, that’s not looking like enough unless the three of the Phillies, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Marlins fall apart.
And right now, that’s fine. I mean, it isn’t, but I have long since been resigned to this being a lost season for the Mets. But that doesn’t mean the Mets can’t finish strong down the stretch, make this a positive ending, and act as a spoiler to some of these teams vying for a playoff spot.
Think of it this way.
For the first time all year, the Mets are fun to watch. They have literally turned over their entire bullpen (Devin Williams is on the IL right now, remember), and now have two electric arms from the left and right side (Jefry Yan and Daniel Duarte) shortening games for them. They’re watching a possible five-tool star blossom on a daily basis in Carson Benge. They’re finding a way to extract value out of Kodai Senga as a closer. They have three young, high-ceiling arms in their starting rotation who continue to all get better in real time, and they’ve been able to help resurrect Sean Manaea’s career for a second time as well. They have one of the best catchers in baseball in Luis Torrens, who not only can put on a clinic behind the plate for pretty much anyone in the sport, but has found his power stroke, specifically to the opposite field.
They’re winning. And this is all without Juan Soto too. These are all good things.
Right now, I am just happy I am not watching that dumpster fire of a Met team they had through July 31. I don’t know if it will continue. I hope it does. I like watching the Mets win, even if there’s no path forward for them.
There’s a lot to like about the Mets as-constructed, even though we know they need a lot of pieces to make this team a contender. Right now, they’re playing free and easy and seemingly without whatever pressures there were earlier in the year. There are players here playing with a purpose, which includes an audition for the Mets or other clubs who might be interested in them. People like Manaea and Senga are playing for their baseball lives and trying to squeeze a little bit more time out of their major league careers. And then there are the rookies who have come with an electricity this organization needed out of their minor league system.
In a way, it’s evolving the way it needs to, even in a bad year simply because of what they’ve been able to bring to the big league rotation in Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton combined with the emergence of Benge and AJ Ewing.
Again, these are all good things. They unquestionably all need to continue to grow and mature down the stretch and into next season for sure, but this is how championship teams are born.
Not through free agency. The Mets are living proof that money can’t buy championships considering how much money they’ve spent under Steve Cohen’s stewardship.
It’s through the draft. It’s through international free agency. It’s through player development. It’s by graduating those players through the system to the major leagues with high-ceiling players.
That’s the way, and the only way.
That’s not to say the Mets should stop spending in free agency and acquiring expensive talent. But they need to be using those markets to supplement their homegrown pipeline.
That’s truly when Mr. Cohen’s money works to their advantage, when they can spend big to grow the organization both from the inside and out.
Maybe they’re doing that now.
Around the League 🚩
Tommy John passed away at the age of 83 on Saturday (MLB.com)
Former Mets RHP Freddy Peralta allowed two runs into the fifth inning, but the Rays got swept away by the Orioles 10-2 in St. Petersburg
Yankees 1B Ben Rice hit a two-run home run in the tenth inning as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 4-3
The Marlins clubbed the Reds 7-1 – RHP Eury Pérez allowed two hits over six innings for Miami
Excellent point, Michael. This IS how you build championship teams. I wonder if some day we will look back on this year and think we judged David Stearns too harshly because this was the beginning of a great run for the Mets.
Totally agree that the way to build a sustainable winner - and Stearns has said this so he knows - is to supplement home grown talent with veterans and not the other way around. I think Cohen meddles. This year’s mess isn’t all on Stearns imo