The Mets' struggles with RISP continue in a big way

The Mets drop their second series of the year after a frustrating loss to the Twins in the finale. Plus, just where has all the clutch hitting gone?

AP

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets lost 4-3 to the Twins in extra-innings on Wednesday afternoon, dropping the series and finishing the road trip 3-3 (box | highlights)

• RHP Griffin Canning was scratched from his start to illness, leaving the Mets to go with RHP Huascar Brazobán as the opener, who retired the side in order in the first

• RHP Justin Hagenman made his MLB debut and was impressive, allowing just one earned run on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts in 3.1 innings

• The Mets rallied to tie the game in the eighth but left runners stranded on first and second in the 10th, and RHP Reed Garrett allowed a leadoff single with the Twins taking the final game and the series

• The Mets went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving a total of nine runners stranded on base

• SS Francisco Lindor announced that he has been named the captain for Team Puerto Rico at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (Instagram)

• The Mets were deemed to have the 11th best front office in MLB, according to executives in the game (The Athletic)

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Roster Moves 📰

• RHP Justin Hagenman recalled from Triple-A Syracuse

• RHP Max Kranick optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

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Injury Updates 🏥

• 2B Jeff McNeil (oblique strain) will play center field for Single-A St. Lucie in a rehab assignment on Thursday following the injury to CF Jose Siri

• C Francisco Alvarez (fractured left hand) went 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs for Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday

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Stat of the Day 📊

• SS Francisco Lindor now has a 20-game hitting streak at Target Field, dating back to 2019. It is the longest streak by an opponent in ballpark history, and just one game shy of Brian Dozier’s record 21-game hitting streak at Target Field (H/T Anthony DiComo)

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Who’s Hot? 🔥

• After another clutch hit on Wednesday, 1B Pete Alonso is now hitting .365/.474/.730/.1.205 with five home runs, eight doubles, 12 walks and 21 RBIs

• Through the first 18 games of the season, the Mets have pitched to a team ERA of 2.38, which is the best mark in baseball. Their starters have an MLB-best 2.54 ERA, and their relievers have a 2.18 ERA - the third-best mark in baseball

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Who’s Cold? 🥶

• The Mets are hitting just .166 with runners in scoring position, and just .191 with men on, through the first 18 games of the season

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Play of the Game ⭐️

Having rallied back to tie the game in the eighth inning, the Mets seemingly had all the momentum heading into extra innings.

It certainly seemed that way after Pete Alonso walked to put runners on first and second with no outs.

However, Jesse Winker - who had recorded an RBI double earlier in the game - stepped to the plate and hit into a double-play situation, wiping out all the momentum and putting extra pressure on Brandon Nimmo, who proceeded to pop out and effectively end the Mets’ chances of winning the game.

The Twins would go on to walk-it off in the bottom of the 10th, with the Mets’ inability to cash in with runners on again coming back to hurt them for the second consecutive game.

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• SS Jett Williams (No. 2 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI

• 1B Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 2B

• DH Jacob Reimer (No. 21 prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR

• RHP Nate Dohm (No. 19 prospect, Single-A): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

• CF A.J. Ewing (No. 28 prospect, Single-A): 3-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (PPD)

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (11-7) vs. Cardinals (9-9)

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY

Starters: RHP Griffin Canning (1-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. RHP Andre Pallante (2-0, 2.20 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Why can’t the Mets come up with clutch hitting when it matters right now? ✍️

AP

It feels as though we’ve been talking about the Mets’ inability to take advantage of runners in scoring position since Opening Day.

And that’s probably because we have, for the most part. After all, aside from Pete Alonso, the lineup has been the polar opposite of clutch.

And this team’s worrying lack of clutch hitting was the driving force behind a frustrating series in Minnesota.

The Mets dropped their first series since the opening series loss to the Astros back in March. They also lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. And it was all thanks to an offense that is still figuring it out, especially in big spots with runners on.

The lineup finished 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the finale, leaving nine runners stranded on base. Golden opportunities were wasted in the second, fourth, and fifth innings when the Mets had multiple runners on, including a bases-loaded situation in the fifth.

It took until the eighth inning of the game for the offense to show some life, with Francisco Lindor keeping his remarkable hitting streak at Target Field alive with a leadoff single. That paved the way for Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker to come up with back-to-back RBI doubles, before Luisangel Acuña - who had struck out three times previously - came up with a big-time, clutch two-out single to bring Winker home and make it a tie game.

That was as good as it got, however.

Alonso - who has been the very definition of clutch all year long - put runners on first and second in the 10th with a walk, only for Winker to ground into a double play before Brandon Nimmo popped out to pave the way for the Twins to walk it off.

In total, the Mets went a combined 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position across the final two games of the series - both of which were losses.

And, across the entire series, New York was a not-clutch 5-for-28 with RISP.

As a result, the Mets currently rank next to last in Major League Baseball with a .166 batting average with runners in scoring position in the season.

Sorry to state the obvious but, yeah, that just isn’t going to get the job done.

But, at the same time, it is hard to explain exactly why the Mets have stunk with runners in scoring position this year, and why they just can’t seem to cash in.

The talent is there for sure but, outside of Alonso, the entire lineup is struggling to hit when it really matters.

Winker did play his part in the game-tying rally late on Wednesday, but he was also guilty of getting thrown out of the plate at home when attempting to score from second base in the second inning. Nimmo is chasing way too much at the moment, and that was evident when he popped out in the 10th.

Mark Vientos - who didn’t play on Wednesday - and Brett Baty have combined for 12 strikeouts and only two hits in 28 at-bats with runners in scoring position this season.

Juan Soto had a productive series overall - finishing with two home runs - but he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in the finale, and also grounded out into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the fifth.

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Lindor did get the rally going in the eighth, but for the most part, he has struggled offensively and is hitting just .077 with RISP, and .136 with men on base this year.

As is always the case with everything this time of year, it is important to stress that it is still very early. We’ve got a lot of baseball left to be played. And, looking at the bigger picture, I’m not concerned about Lindor or Soto at all. I also strongly believe that Vientos will be fine in the long haul. Put Winker in that latter category, too.

However, on the flip-side of that, Nimmo has become an incredibly unproductive player with runners on, and his approach in clutch situations is incredibly concerning. I think that is a red flag worth keeping an eye on. And, as for Baty, I think sadly it is time for that experiment to come to an end. It will be compelling to see what version of Jeff McNeil the Mets get when he’s healthy, and the eventual return of Francisco Alvarez should also help this team in clutch situations.

Overall, outside of Alonso, the entire lineup has to be much better when it comes to situational and clutch hitting with runners on.

On the plus side, they are putting runners on base in the first place, and there’s way too much talent there for this lineup not to figure it out eventually and cash in with RISP.

In saying that, though, we can only judge what is happening right now, and the Mets have now lost back-to-back games because of their inability to come up big in clutch situations. Stellar pitching can only take you so far, and it is now up to the lineup to start carrying their fair share of the workload.

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Around the League 🚩

• Making his first MLB start since April 2024, Braves RHP Spencer Strider struckout five and allowed two earned runs on five hits in a 3-1 loss to the Blue Jays

• Wednesday proved to be a historic day in MLB with five former No. 1 overall draft picks - 1B Bryce Harper (2010), CF Mickey Moniak (2016), 1B Spencer Torkelson (2020), C Henry Davis (2021), and SS Jackson Holliday (2022) - each hitting a home run all on the same day - just the sixth time it has happened since the MLB Draft began in 1965

• SS Jackson Holliday ripped the second grand slam of his career as the Orioles beat the Guardians, 9-1

• OF Aaron Judge continued his red-hot start to the season with a three-hit night, including a go-ahead home run in the seventh as the Yankees beat the Royals, 4-3

• The Padres beat the Cubs, 4-2, on Wednesday to improve to an MLB-best 15-4 on the year - tied for the best-19 game start in franchise history with the 1998 San Diego team