It was a tall order for the Mets to take on Sean Manaea without two of their best righty hitters. And that was further compounded by another poor start from Chris Bassitt. The end result was a 13-2 beatdown from the Padres. This was just the second series loss of the season for the Mets this season.
The highlights were few and far between for the Mets on Wednesday night. Jeff McNeil had two hits and an RBI. J.D. Davis reached base two times with a single and a walk. Khalil Lee came on mid-game and got an at-bat and didn’t strike out.
It’s never easy to travel to the West Coast. It’s even tougher when you face two of the best three teams in the league. The Mets have a day off on Thursday to regroup before facing the reeling Angels. A series win in Anaheim makes it a good trip.
Gut Reaction: no one said it was going to be easy.
McNeil, Davis and Escobar continue getting hits.
Guillorme and Nimmo are slipping and not getting hits. Maybe Nimmo is not a hundred percent.
Rodriguez gave up a run again. Ottavino did not give up a run again.
I series win against the Angels (2-1) will make a successful West Coast road trip (5-5). LGM
Stepping back away from the trees, the forest ain’t so bad. If Mets can win two from Angels, they break even on the trip. Breaking even is okay in tough conditions. Dodgers and Padres at home are tough conditions.
The hard charge of the Braves and Phillies make things seem worse. But if the Mets are for real, they will withstand the charge and pull away again after those teams cool off and we get our fuller team back.
The thing is the ‘charge’ isnt over, by a long shot. There still are 3 v Mil and 4 v Hou and 7 v a Miami team that has a record of treating the Mets poorly from time to time.
I think the plan to finish 13-12 for the month is still the low bar they need for the month. Today they are 4-4. This is a real test of the team with pitching not doing great and, for the moment, not much in the way of hitting.
July is a month they can recover from and hopefully take advantage with Jake and Max back. The second half of Aug, looking ahead, is also another “mid term exam” to borrow from JD Davis. One thing though, these are tests, not quizzes.