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After an impressive 7-3 win this afternoon against the raging Atlanta Braves, the Mets close a measuring stick series against their NL East cohort. New York managed to take 2 out of 3 in a hard-fought series and increase their lead back to 2.5 games as the All-Star Break closes in. This series confirmed many things, both good and bad, but at the end of the day, the Mets needed this series win and they got it.
The Good:
The Mets starting pitching was outstanding during this series, containing the heavy hitting Braves lineup each day. Through 3 starts, the starting pitchers threw 18.1 innings, striking out 24 hitters, while only giving up 4 earned runs. The pitching set the tone for the games and limited the damage, giving the Mets readily inconsistent lineup a fighting chance each and every game.
While the Mets lineup was depleted as they had 2 All-Stars missing in Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil, they were able to thrive, for the most part, due to the impressive play of Francisco Lindor and Luis Guillorme. Guillorme even found himself in the cleanup spot in the rubber match during Wednesday’s contest. The two of them sparked the Mets offense that has otherwise struggled mightily for the past month, as they ranked 29th in the entire league with RISP, in contrast to the beginning of the season where they thrived in spots like that.
EDWIN DIAZ!!! Diaz has asserted himself back into the conversation of “Best Reliever in Baseball.” What he has done this year has been nothing short of outstanding. He’s rarely gotten into trouble and when he has, the confidence doesn’t waiver, as his nasty repertoire combined with his otherworldly velocity is a recipe for one thing and one thing only: Death by strikeout. Having him at the back of the bullpen is a scary sight for opposing teams and a safety blanket for the Mets and their fans. He just shoves…plain and simple.
The Bad:
All relievers not named Edwin Diaz have struggled this season in one way or another. And while that certainly happens, the Mets need to find their guys that they can really rely on if they want to compete down the stretch. Seth Lugo and Drew Smith have both seemed like they were those guys for the high leverage 7th and 8th innings, but they have both struggled recently in a very bad way, as they have been dealing the long ball on a consistent basis. The Mets will need to lockdown the bullpen moving forward.
The Mets offense was able to put up 12 runs in 3 games, which is just about average in today’s MLB, but their inconsistencies have been an extreme weak point, especially in the past 30 games or so. They put up too many box scores where they only score 0-3 runs, and it does not bode well for winning games. The inconsistent hitting and the constant struggles with scoring with RISP are a major concern moving forward.
Nonetheless, the Mets should feel good about their series win, as it came at a pivotal time on their schedule. The Mets are about to embark on a 4-game road trip to Chicago as they’ll play the Cubs to close out part 1 of their 2022 campaign.
