The Mets turned in their biggest win of the year
Refusing to fold in the face of unceasing adversity, they're one win away from a 5-1 home stand
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets gritted out a gutsy win to even up the Subway Series, beating the Yankees 6-3 (box)
The Yankees struck first with a Trent Grisham RBI in the second inning, but the Mets responded immediately by scoring two runs on a wild pitch from Carlos Rodón in the bottom of the third
3B Brett Baty put another run on the board in the fourth inning with an RBI double
1B Mark Vientos drove in three runs, padding the Mets’ lead with a two-run double in the fifth and then sending home an insurance run in the seventh
LF Juan Soto had a productive game, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two steals, and a run scored
Though he committed a very poorly timed error late in the game, RF Carson Benge continued his recent breakout at the plate, turning in a three-hit night and crossing the plate twice
LHP David Peterson had another solid appearance in his new role out of the bullpen, allowing two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts over four innings of work
RHP Luke Weaver turned in his most impressive performance of the season with two scoreless frames after inheriting a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the 7th
RHP Devin Williams secured his sixth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning behind Weaver
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Clay Holmes (fractured right fibula) will need several months to heal and build back up, but he does not need surgery; Carlos Mendoza expects him to pitch again this season
LHP A.J. Minter (left lat surgery, left hip discomfort) will not need a full 30-day buildup, but remains 1-2 weeks away from activation
OF/1B Jared Young (torn left meniscus) started a rehab assignment on May 15
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Clay Holmes placed on 15-day IL
RHP Joey Gerber recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
Play(er) of the Game 💪
I wish I could be as cool as Luke Weaver.
Entering a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the 7th inning on the heels of a run-scoring error by Carson Benge and some struggles from Brooks Raley, Weaver faced the tall task of turning momentum back in the Mets’ favor. He did exactly that, striking out Amed Rosario and Trent Grisham before getting Anthony Volpe to ground out to Bo Bichette.
In just 12 pitches, Weaver completely shifted the vibes of the evening. He came back out for the 8th and sat down Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Aaron Judge to finish his night and set Devin Williams up for the save.
“Unicorn stuff,” said Soto after the game. “He comes in, shows no fear, attacks the hitters, gets the job done — it’s pretty cool to see.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather be in that situation…Weav lives for those moments,” Williams added. It showed.
Who’s Hot? 🥵
Carson Benge is hitting .347/.396/.490 with a homer, four doubles, four walks, two steals, seven RBI, and 10 runs scored in May
Juan Soto is hitting .292/.414/.542 with two homers, four RBI, two steals, and five walks against four strikeouts in his last seven games
Luke Weaver has allowed just two runs in his last 11 outings, with 15 K-4 BB in 13.0 innings
Devin Williams hasn’t allowed a run in his last eight outings, with 10 strikeouts against just one walk and one hit in those 7.2 innings of work
David Peterson has a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings as a ‘bulk starter’ (Newsday)
Who’s Cold? 🥶
Bo Bichette is hitting just .155/.246/.155 in his last 15 games
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
ICYMI: Andrew took the mic in the latest midweek episode to react to the Baby Mets leading the season’s first sweep 🧹
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Xzavion Curry (Triple-A): 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
RHP Jonathan Pintaro (No. 20 prospect, Triple-A: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
C Chris Suero (No. 14 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
1B Randy Guzman (No. 23, Single-A): 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI
C Chase Meggers (Single-A): 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 1 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (19-26) vs. Yankees (28-18)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Freddy Peralta (3-3, 3.10 ERA) vs. RHP Elmer Rodríguez (0-1, 5.19 ERA)
When: 1:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The Mets made it clear their season is far from over ✍️
After losing Clay Holmes until likely August (at least) with a freak leg fracture on Friday night, the Mets’ year of despair appeared destined to persist into the foreseeable future.
With their best pitcher on the shelf and a quarter of the Opening Day lineup still without a timetable for return, it seemed this season’s story was careening towards its bleakest chapter yet.
And yet, on Saturday, essentially all was well.
Huascar Brazobán was a scoreless opener. David Peterson was effective in his four innings of work. The bullpen turned in arguably its best performance of the season, fueled by one of the best outings of Luke Weaver’s career. Devin Williams slammed the door on his old team. Though his late error allowed a Yankee run, Carson Benge scored two of his own on another multi-hit night. Juan Soto stole two bases and notched two hits, and Mark Vientos continued driving in runs (he leads the team with 22 RBI).
When this team stays patient, gets on base, and puts themselves in positions to take advantage of mistakes and run-scoring opportunities, good things tend to happen.
Last night, Mets hitters saw an average of 5.5 pitches per plate appearance (P/PA), got on base at an over-.400 clip despite striking out 14 times, and successfully stole two of three bases while making solid contact throughout the lineup. The season’s proven formula for success strikes again!
After taking the biggest gut punch of the season to date, they responded with a true team victory. In that spirit, last night’s win was the biggest one of the season so far. By demonstrating that they’re never out of the fight, the Mets once again proved that this is a roster that is more than capable of putting together complete, winning efforts; it’s their inconsistency that does them in. Whenever they’ve seen a lot of pitches and made good swing choices, or stayed proactive on the basepaths, results have tended to follow – perhaps some of those habits will start to stick with some continued lineup stability.
Now, after Freddy Peralta takes the hill for today’s series finale, Christian Scott and Nolan McLean will handle the first two games of a four-game set with the Nationals. After that, the pitching schedule is TBD. So, of course, the question remains: where do the Mets turn for starter innings next?
Though stretching Tobias Myers out to cover a starter’s workload is on the table, per Mendoza, it will take a little while to ramp him up properly, so any Myers start will likely be a piggyback situation for at least the next few weeks. If there were to be another Triple-A promotion, Jack Wenninger and Jonah Tong look like the obvious candidates. However, I’d argue that Zach Thornton also deserves some serious consideration, even though he has a smaller Triple-A sample to his name than A.J. Ewing.
As with Ewing, I wrote glowingly of Thornton in my coverage of him last fall:
“Thornton’s repertoire will play on any stage, and it’s likely going to age very well. Since his fastball usually sits in the low-to-mid 90s, Thornton relies much more on finesse and his deep pitch mix than he does on velocity to get guys out. Though his 9.66 K/9 looks low compared to Watson’s and Santucci’s, it’s also reflective of a 2.51 K/9 increase in just one season. That’s a pretty encouraging trend.
Another good sign is his steadily decreasing FIP. After posting a 4.88 in Single-A in 2024, he brought it all the way down to 2.96 after his High-A promotion to bring his season mark to a respectable 3.88. This year, he continued that progress, opening his season with a 2.18 mark at High-A, followed by a 2.77 at Double-A before being sidelined. The fact that Thornton has been able to raise his strikeout rate so significantly (28.5% in 2025) while keeping his walks minimal (4.0%) and not generating an overwhelming swinging strike rate tells us that he is an elite pitch locator; the eye test confirms as much. He deploys a plethora of pitch types, and so far, he’s been able to place them all effectively.”
Long-heralded for his ability to spot his stuff better than any arm currently in the organization, Thornton has looked excellent since his recent promotion. In his first two starts (12.0 IP) for Syracuse, Thornton has a 2.25 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 13 strikeouts against three walks. To open his Triple-A tenure, he’s throwing strikes at a 70% clip while keeping at-bats brief, tossing just 3.5 P/PA. He’s also generated a 35% chase rate, and hitters are swinging at fewer than 60% of the pitches he throws in the zone, further suggesting he’s consistently working the corners and edges effectively.
Thornton last threw on Friday, so a start could potentially line up with what would have been Holmes’s next turn; the Mets could also use some starting length out of a lefty, though it’s admittedly unlikely they’d get that from Thornton out of the gate. And while his fastball is averaging only ~91 mph, his ability to navigate the strike zone should continue to translate across levels; a lower-velo heater placed in just the right spot can be just as deadly as 100+ mph of straight, elevated gas.
Will the Mets promote Thornton again after only two Triple-A starts? Time will tell. But don’t be surprised if he gets the call sooner rather than later.
No matter what direction the Mets end up going in on the mound, they’ve made one thing very clear in these last two series at home: this season is far from over.
With 117 games left to play, the Mets are 19-26 and eight games back of the third Wild Card spot. It feels pretty ridiculous to be doing even a light playoff watch with over 100 games left to play, but nearly 50 games into the season, as things slowly start clicking, this team still seems like it has more to offer. ‘Fool me once,’ etc., but despite all the injuries they’ve incurred, this roster has on multiple occasions shown an ability to win games shorthanded. And if the rookies are for real, the calculus is inherently different from what it was even a few weeks ago.
While it will take a sustained stretch of series wins for it to significantly matter in the standings, every meaningful streak’s got to start somewhere.
“The season’s so long. You have a bad month, you have a good month, you have a bad month…that’s just the nature of the game,” Vientos said in his post-game comments.
So far, major injuries aside, May has been a kinder month to the Mets than April. There’s ample time left, and anything can happen at any time, but the more games and series this team wins, the easier it gets to believe — and it’s way more fun to believe.
Around the League 🚩
Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez struck out 13 Pirates in a complete game shutout; he has thrown 29.2 straight scoreless innings
Munetaka Murakami hit his 16th and 17th homers of the season in his Crosstown Classic debut
Blake Snell will undergo surgery to clean up loose bodies in his elbow; his timetable for return is unclear
The Orioles signed Tommy Pham to a minor league deal (MLB.com)
Murakami would have been a better choice than Polanco for 1b after Alonso left. Stearns?!
Ten under on June 1st. Season over? No. OMG.
Not there yet. It's only May. Anyway, get to .500, and start from there.