Wiped away in Cleveland...

The Mets were swept by the Guardians and are now seven games under .500 for the year

Michael Baron

May 23, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets lost again and were swept by the Guardians in a 6-3 loss in Cleveland (box)
José Quintana started for the Mets and pitched really well for five innings, but in the sixth he allowed a three-run home run to former Met Andrés Giménez to tie the game
The normally reliable Reed Garrett gave up a run in the seventh and Adam Ottavino allowed two runs in an ineffective eighth inning
The Mets did hit three home runs in the game, the second consecutive game they’ve done that. Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Harrison Bader all connected
The Mets went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners stranded
The Mets have now lost 20 of their last 29 games, are hitting .228/.290/.364 while averaging 3.7 runs scored during that span. They are allowing 5.1 runs during the same span with a 4.74 team ERA. They’ve walked 124 batters in 258.1 IP during the same stretch

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Injury Updates 🏥

C Francisco Álvarez (thumb surgery) could soon take batting practice. He is expected to return in mid-to-late June

Down on the Farm 🌾

RHP Wellington Aracena (FCL Mets): 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K
LHP Ryan Ammons (Single-A St. Lucie): 3 IP, 1 BB, 5 K
RHP Kade Morris (Single-A Brooklyn): 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K
1B Ryan Clifford (Double-A Binghamton): 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
3B José Iglesias (Triple-A Syracuse): 3-for-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI

BOX SCORES

FCL METS | STL | BRK | BNG | SYR

Today’s Game 🗓

The Mets are off today. They open a three-game series with the Giants on Friday at Citi Field.

Sigh… ✍️

Remember yesterday when I said the Mets simply needed to be better?

Well, that didn’t happen yesterday.

They were fine for the first five innings as it turns out. The problem is, it’s a nine inning game and needless to say, the Mets didn’t exactly win innings 6-9. They were outscored 6-0 during those innings.

José Quintana looked like he was righting his ship out there too. He had thrown just 52 pitches over five shutout innings - it looked like he might be able to give the Mets some necessary length.

But alas, Andrés Giménez and company had other plans for him in the sixth.

The former Met stuck it back to the club that traded him for a far more expensive shortstop, hitting a three-run home run to erase the Mets three-run lead which you just knew wasn’t going to hold up for one reason or another.

Because that’s how it has been going for the Mets, who left a small army on the bases again yesterday which paved the way for them to find another way to lose a winnable game.

The Mets have lost 20 of their last 29 games. For the math experts who read our newsletter, that’s a .310 winning percentage. Those 20 losses are tied with the Reds for the most in baseball during that span, which means they’ve been pretty much the worst team over the last month of play.

They’re giving up nearly a run and a half more than they’re scoring during that span, both numbers being poor in their own way. Their 4.74 ERA over their last 29 games is the second worst in the majors during that span.

Their .655 team OPS is the seventh worst in baseball during that same span, their 92 wRC+ is the ninth worst, and their -2 BsR (the stat that measures their base running) is the fifth worst.

I mean, they’re awful. No other word to use. They’re a dysfunctional lineup and their pitching - which had all of these warning signs early on between inefficiencies and too many walks - has come crashing down.

The thing is, we are at the first mile marker for assessing clubs, which is Memorial Day. This is usually the time when front offices look out there and say, “what you see here is what you’re going to get.”

The Mets are seven games under .500 as they arrive at Memorial Day weekend. That puts them on pace for 69 wins in 2024, which would amount to 93 losses.

And that’s if they keep the pace they’re on. This was a similar level they played at after the trade deadline in 2024, although I’d argue they were a smidge more interesting than they were before last year’s trade deadline.

Of course, that was an incredibly low bar.

Like I said yesterday, I am not terribly surprised the Mets have underwhelmed although I am surprised they’ve been so meager so early and have seemingly reached their nadir five times over the last month. I never drank the drink the Mets were trying to get everyone to take before the season started - I’ve seen a lot of baseball in my conscious lifetime and unfortunately, have had that same Kool-Aid before.

I learned my lesson long ago.

Of course, I didn’t think the Mets would be non-competitive in so many areas of the roster. I did think the pitching would be a problem, but I didn’t think their offense would be as bad as it’s been. I figured Francisco Lindor was bound to get off to a good start, I thought Jeff McNeil would bounce back (although he has shown some very good signs lately), and I obviously expect more from Brandon Nimmo.

If those three can get going, at least the offense would be a little less maddening on a day-to-day basis until they have to decide what they’re doing before the trade deadline.

There’s one area we haven’t talked a lot about with this Mets team, and that is the job Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.

All-told, I think he is doing a great job. I haven’t really questioned any major decision to-date, I think he has managed the bullpen as well as he could under the circumstances, and he says all the right things during the pre and post. He is even keeled, doesn’t get too high on the highs (there haven’t been a whole lot of those anyway) and doesn’t get too low on the lows either.

We were all worried about another rookie manager with the Mets coming in, but needless to say Mendoza has been the least of the club’s problems.

He has done what he can with the hand he has been dealt, which hasn’t been a good one so far this season.

Sigh.

Around the League 🚩

Juan Soto hit two home runs as the Yankees defeated the Mariners 7-3
Tyler Anderson gave the Angels eight strong innings as they edged the Astros 2-1 in Houston
Max Fried fired a complete-game while allowing only one run and three hits to guide the Brave story a 9-2 win over the Cubs
Freddy Fermin drove in three runs and Bobby Witt Jr. drove in two to pace the Royals to an 8-3 win over the struggling Tigers