The rotation burned the Mets, again!
David Peterson's latest stink bomb drowned the Mets early in Philly on Sunday night
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost to the Phillies on Sunday night by a score of 6-2 (box)
David Peterson lasted just four innings on Sunday, allowing four earned runs thanks in part to a three-run home run from Kyle Schwarber
Carson Benge did homer against Zack Wheeler, but he was otherwise great against his former team over 5.2 IP while allowing only three other singles
The Mets bullpen was strong again, combining to allow only one run over the game’s final four innings
Injury Updates 🩺
SS Francisco Lindor (calf strain) went 0-for-4 with a walk for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday
OF Tyrone Taylor (right hip flexor strain) went 1-for-3 with two RBI for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday
SS Ronny Mauricio (fractured left thumb) went 1-for-3 with a walk for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday
Play of the Game 😵💫
The knockout punch against the Mets came pretty early on Sunday when Kyle Schwarber tagged David Peterson for a three-run home run in the second inning to put the game out of reach.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Andrew and Rich recapped a disappointing week for the Mets as they wrapped up their road trip against the Reds and Phillies, rehash their problems in the rotation and at first base, and a lot more.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
INF Yonny Hernandez (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 3 2B, 2 R
RHP RJ Gordon (Double-A): 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Dakota Hawkings (High-A): 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
DH Simon Juan (Low-A): 1-for-4, 3B, K
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (34-43) at Cubs (41-35)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Kodai Senga (0-5, 9.00 ERA) vs. LHP Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.26 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Well, that didn’t help! ✍️
Sunday’s game for the Mets couldn’t have been a grosser mismatch against them on paper, with the beleaguered David Peterson going for them with former Met Zack Wheeler going for the Phillies.
And if you bet properly on Wheeler outpitching Peterson, you weren’t disappointed.
The game was essentially over in the first inning and became more over in the second inning as Peterson was generally uncompetitive against the Phillies and knocked the Mets right out of the game early, with Kyle Schwarber nailing it shut with a three-run home run that hasn’t landed yet.
That home run and the result of the game capped a 2-4 week for the Mets against the Reds and Phillies, which didn’t exactly inspire hope the club could gain some momentum and jump some of the many teams ahead of them in the Wild Card race.
Sure, the current playoff format does allow for teams to get hot, get into the race, and sneak into a Wild Card spot with more or less a five, six, or seven-game winning streak. And the Mets could very well do that, maybe this week.
But the one component that could even offer a prayer for the Mets to be able to win multiple games in a row, or just two series in a row (which they haven’t done since mid-May), is so bad that it seems impossible to even believe that can or even will happen.
And that’s the starting rotation.
I know we have talked this to death over the last week or two specifically, but the rotation was improperly conceived and built in 2025, and outside of the acquisition of Freddy Peralta this past winter, that poorly constructed rotation was generally run back in large measure in 2026, with the one major change being the turnover of the pitching coach staff in the dugout.
That didn’t help, and that ultimately became a giant egg cracked over their head, which they can’t clean up, either.
To make matters worse, Peralta’s season has blown up in his and their collective faces too, especially after his latest stink bomb against the Phillies ballooned his ERA (4.83) higher than that of Sean Manaea (4.64), which seems unbelievable considering that even a month ago, it was debatable whether or not Manaea should still have a roster spot.
Now, not only is Manaea in the rotation, but he is arguably their most dependable starter, albeit that being an incredibly low bar to get over.
The Mets rotation is once again among the league’s worst, with an ERA of 4.24 (27th), a 4.9 fWAR (4.9), only 353 IP (26th), and 4.03 BB/9 (28th).
To be fair though, there are some peripheral stats which signal this shouldn’t be this bad, such as their 4.09 FIP, which is the 10th lowest mark in the game, their 23.3% strikeout rate which is the ninth-highest mark in the game, and the .298 average on balls in play, which is the sixth highest mark in the game.
But, in the end, the actual numbers are what really matter, and the luck argument runs thin when they’re out of so many of these games early and their starters aren’t able to throw enough innings or competitive innings for that matter on a day-in, day-out basis.
And as Linda wrote on Friday, that’s on this front office for once again poorly conceiving this rotation, implementing a poor system for their rotation, and perhaps poorly deploying this rotation while combining that with a whole hell of a lot of hope that people like Peterson, Kodai Senga, and even Sean Manaea can put together long stretches of consistency to give this rotation a chance to be competent.
There’s no help coming, either. Jonah Tong just can’t seem to get his season on the rails at Triple-A, and the Mets have said they need more consistency from him. They could give Jack Wenninger a shot if the Mets decide to punt at the trade deadline and continue to develop him when the season becomes lower in leverage in August and September. But that’s about it. So, the help has to come from Peralta, Nolan McLean, Christian Scott when he gets back, as well as Manaea and whoever the fifth starter of the week is for this club.
I have wondered lately how David Stearns might approach this rotation this coming winter. He’s been the king of signing short-term deals for pitchers, or in Peralta’s case, giving up prospects for a one-year commit to a pitcher. And while I agree they shouldn’t be handing out long-term contracts to starting pitchers, the 2-3-year commit to fractional pitchers and one-year commits to rentals isn’t exactly working out for this club, either.
Like, mostly at all.
Yeah, Clay Holmes has been fantastic, Manaea has been better lately, but the truth is he’s been good here for the sum total of four months over a three-year span. Senga has been a disaster, and the Peralta thing hasn’t been good at all to date. So does he take a bold step and buy a surer thing for the next 3-4 years this winter at the expense of maybe 2-3 years on the back end?
They need surer things for their rotation, and it would seem insane to execute the same strategy in the trade and free agent markets again. We will see, I guess.
That’s probably where McLean, Tong, Wenninger, and the rest of their pitching prospects come into play. The rotation would certainly be in better shape if McLean’s season becomes consistently better, as he’s had a rough month or so, to say the least. But obviously, it’s critically important for them to get more out of their younger and controllable pitchers.
After all, that’s clearly the underlying dependency with their strategy in the external markets.
Around the League 🚩
William Contreras had four hits as the Brewers romped the Braves 9-4
The Rays rallied for three runs in the sixth and seventh innings to roll past the Nationals 4-3
Kai-Wei Teng allowed only a run over six innings as the Astros edged the Guardians 2-1
Wyatt Langford hit a three-run homer to help the Rangers edge the Padres 4-3
Maybe they shouldn't have fired the pitching coach who get NLCS-quality level pitching out of many of the same pitchers two seasons ago.
It's easy to criticize Stearns and he deserves some of it. Is he responsible for Peralta performing far worse than last year? For Holmes's injury? Exactly who would you have liked him to have signed? Framber Valdez is not exactly killing it. Do you like the Ranger Suarez deal 5 years 130M?