The Mets might be hitting their stride again at just the right time...

The Mets put on a hitting clinic to take the series opener from San Diego and start a do-or-die road trip with a bang...

Andrew Steele

Aug 23, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets opened up a crucial and long road trip in style by beating the Padres 8-3 in the series opener at Petco Park on Thursday, clinching the season series to own the tiebreaker in the process (box)
RHP Luis Severino couldn’t go deep into the game, allowing one earned run on five hits but walking four with five strikeouts in just five innings
The bullpen was brilliant with LHP Danny Young, RHP Reed Garrett and RHP Phil Maton each tossing a scoreless inning in relief
RHP Huascar Brazobán was given the ball for the ninth and he survived despite a messy inning, allowing two earned runs on two hits with two walks
The Mets led 3-1 going into the ninth inning but exploded for five runs in the final frame, finishing the game with 17 hits
3B Mark Vientos stayed hot with a RBI double in the first inning, and he finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs while extending his hitting streak to 10 straight games
RF/2B Jeff McNeil enjoyed a monster night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI
Jesse Winker - a day removed from his walk-off heroics - laced a RBI double in the ninth to help blow the game open, just one of five doubles the Mets scored on the night
1B Pete Alonso was productive, finishing 3-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI on the night
2B/3B Jose Iglesias and CF/RF Tyrone Taylor both came up with big hits in the ninth to contribute to a huge inning for New York as the game was blown wide open
Iglesias also made the play of the game, executing a tricky double-play in the fifth, despite Jake Cronenworth’s ground ball having a 110.9 mph exit velocity (watch)
The Mets are now 10-10 in August, 41-19 when scoring first, 54-22 when scoring four or more runs, and 18-14 since the All-Star Game
SS Francisco Lindor has morphed into a true MVP contender this year, while being the very heart and soul of the Mets (ESPN)

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Playoff Race 🏁

With the Braves also winning on Thursday, the Mets remain a game-and-a-half back of Atlanta for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. However, they continue to make up ground and are 4.5 games behind the Padres, and 5 games behind the Diamondbacks.

More importantly, the Mets have now clinched the season series and own the tiebreaker after beating San Diego on Thursday night.

There are 34 games remaining.

Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 27.9% chance of making the postseason.

New York has the ninth most difficult schedule in MLB the rest of the way.

Tiebreakers:

vs. ATL: 5-5
vs. ARI: 2-2
vs. SD: 4-0 (clinched tiebreaker)
vs. CIN: 2-1
vs. STL: 4-2 (finished)
vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)
vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)
vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)

Injury Updates 🏥

RHP Dedniel Núñez (right pronator strain) will be activated for Friday’s game against the Padres
RHP Kodai Senga (calf strain) remains “very limited” in his workouts despite reports he could return before the end of the regular season
RHP Christian Scott (right UCL sprain) is “throwing with intensity” and hit 100 mph on his fastball on Wednesday, in addition to throwing some changeups

Mark Vientos! 🔥

Extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games with a double, a single and three RBIs on Thursday night
Is hitting .359/.432/.692/.1.124 with 14 hits, 3 home runs, 10 RBIs and 7 runs scoring during his 10-game hitting streak
Is tied with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Brenton Doyle for 8th in the NL at a 2.5 fWAR since rejoining the Mets on May 15 (H/T Mike Mayer, Metsmerized)
Owns a 148 wRC+ (sixth in NL) during that span

Who’s Cold 🥶

After going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts on Thursday, Francisco Álvarez is hitting just .155/.211/.250/.461 with just two homers and five RBIs since the All-Star break
Harrison Bader is hitting just .192/.288/.231/.519 with two extra-base hits over his last 21 games

Down on the Farm 🌾

DH Mike Brosseau (Triple-A): 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
CF Stanley Consuegra (Double-A): 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B
3B Jaylen Palmer (Double-A): 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 2B
DH Nick Morabito (No. 19 prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 1 RBI
3B Boston Baro (No. 16 prospect, Single-A): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB

BOX SCORES

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

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (67-61) vs. Padres (72-57)

Where: Petco Park - San Diego, CA

Starters: RHP Paul Blackburn (5-3, 4.19 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Musgrove (3-4, 4.97 ERA)

When: 9:40 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

Are the Mets getting their mojo back at just the right time? ✍️

The Mets took care of the first order of business in impressive style on Thursday night.

By taking the series opener against the Padres, the Mets have now clinched the season series tiebreaker against San Diego.

Now, there is still a long way to go but, given how intensely tight the Wild Card race is, that could be a crucial factor come the end of the regular season.

But it was the way in which the Mets beat a red-hot Padres team - who had won nine of their last 10 heading into Thursday - that was really eye-grabbing.

They really did send a statement by beginning a do-or-die road trip in the manner they did.

Despite a labored performance on the mound from Luis Severino, who walked four and lasted just five innings, the Mets were able to hang on in there before landing a slew of knockout blows in the ninth inning.

In a 3-1 game in the ninth, the Mets exploded for five runs in the ninth to blow the game wide open and effectively seal the game there and then.

Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil both had huge nights at the plate with three hits each, while Mark Vientos stretched his hitting streak to 10 straight games. Jesse Winker, a day removed from his walk-off heroics against the Orioles, came up with a huge hit in the ninth, as did Jose Iglesias and Tyrone Taylor. The Mets put on a true hitting clinic in the ninth, finishing with 17 hits and showing the rewards of a patience approach at the plate. They also got big-time contributions from up and down the lineup, with Francisco Alvarez the only batter to not record a hit (0-for-5, 4 strikeouts).

It was a good job the offense was so potent given that Huascar Brazobán threatened to implode in the bottom of the ninth, allowing two walks and two earned runs before eventually getting out of the inning. That came hot on the heels of an otherwise dominant performance from the bullpen, with Danny Young, Reed Garrett and Phil Maton all throwing scoreless innings.

All in all, it was an all-round team effort on Thursday and opening up a road trip from hell with a dominant win was one heck of a statement to make.

And, after watching this team walk-off the Orioles twice before going into the backyard of a red-hot Padres team and handling business in the series opener, it is fair to wonder if the Mets have got their mojo back at just the right time.

They seem to be hitting their stride when every single game matters, and nearly everyone is contributing to the cause.

Of course, this is just the beginning of an incredibly tough stretch and the Padres don’t lose too many games in a row these days. In fact, they have now dropped consecutive games for the first time since July 19.

So, with that in mind, the next three games in San Diego should be incredibly tough and Thursday’s win won’t matter if the Mets lose the next three and then go and drop the series in Arizona to the Diamondbacks. Especially if the Braves take care of business against the Nationals this weekend.

But, that said, there seems to be a sense of inevitability about this Mets team and you truly wouldn’t be surprised if they go on another long winning run and bolster their playoff chances considerably in the process.

We’ve long known that these next several days would prove season-defining for the Mets, and they have a chance to do truly something special on this road trip.

It won’t be easy, but you just get an innate feeling that this team are starting to hit their stride again and get their mojo back when it matters most.

If that proves to be the case, then October will begin to look more and more exciting.

Again, granted, these next several games won’t be easy whatsoever and even going .500 on the road trip may not be enough.

However, if the Mets have truly turned the page on their post-All-Star break struggles, and if they’ve really rediscovered their groove, then we could be in for one hell of a fun week.

Let’s see how it all plays out.

Around the League 🚩

The Mariners fired manager Scott Servais after a midseason collapse, replacing him with Dan Wilson, the longtime former Seattle catcher
The Dodgers designated veteran outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment
The Angels reached agreement on a multiyear extension with General Manager Perry Minasian
Rookie RHP Spencer Arrighetti tossed six scoreless innings to out duel Corbin Burnes and help lead the Astros past the Orioles
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias made history on Thursday by becoming just the third pitcher in AL/NL history to make at least 10 consecutive perfect appearances of at least one inning each
Aaron Judge hit his 48th homer of the year and Gerrit Cole tossed six scoreless innings as the Yankees shutout the Guardians 6-0