Starling Marte and Harrison Bader each hit two-run homers to power the Mets to a 9-1 win over the Pirates and a sweep of the three-game series. The Mets have now won four in a row, six of the last seven and 10 of their last 13.
Once again, the Mets fell behind only to come roaring back. This time they struck in the third inning, with Marte’s homer. They broke the game open in the sixth, with Bader’s homer following a two-run single by Tyrone Taylor. And they tacked on three more runs in their new favorite inning, the eighth, with two of them coming on an opposite-field single by Brandon Nimmo.
The Mets finished with 10 hits, with three by Taylor and two by Nimmo. In their last 11 games, the Mets have scored 71 runs. Offense is fun!
Luis Severino started and got the win, pitching the sixth inning for the first time this year. He allowed just one unearned run, with the error coming on his throw to first base. Severino’s ERA now sits at 2.14 for the year.
Three Mets relievers combined to throw three perfect innings. Severino got a double play to end the fifth inning and set down the Pirates in order in the sixth, meaning the visitors did not put a runner on base with their final 13 hitters.
The assumption of many of us coming into the season was that the Mets were a .500 team. That’s also the same as flipping a coin – a 50/50 shot of either outcome, heads or tails or win or loss. The odds of flipping 10 heads in 13 tries is 3.49%, which is more than two standard deviations from the mean.
At this point, we have to consider the possibility that this is better than a .500 team.
Feels a lot like 2022 in some ways. The whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Stearns really raised the floor of this team and those bottom of the order bats and the bench pieces have really been coming through. Extra encouraging since Lindor and Nimmo haven’t hit yet, JDM hasn’t played yet, Senga hasn’t pitched yet, and Diaz is only throwing 95 instead of 99.
Will be camping this weekend and won’t be able to watch the games sadly – but can’t wait to see how we fare against Yamamoto on Friday. Who has the better final line, Manaea or Moto? My prediction:
Yamamoto: 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 9 ks
Manaea: 6 innings 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 8 ks
Mets win 5-3.
Interesting
I just came back from a 3 day bike/camping trip and I viewed all 3 games against the Bucs
Admittedly, I stayed at a state park campground so I wasn’t in the wilderness, thence I was able to use my laptop and the mobile Hotspot feature on my phone
Can’t express how happy it made me given that I’ve lived in Oregon for 20+ years
Teams are never as good as a hot streak makes them look, and never as bad as a losing streak makes them look.
Its a long season and we still have durability issues to contend with as the season wears on. Especially in the starting rotation.
If we assume that Nimmo and Lindor will return to historical norms, then the same might be said for Bader and Wendle, and the entire bench. After all, there’s a reason bench players are on the bench. So how much longer/often can we count on the bench to deliver?
Let’s enjoy the ride while it lasts. But I’m not getting too caught up in what this team might be until there’s a bigger body of proof behind it.
This is what “hitting on all cylinders” looks like for this team. They certainly appear resilient and opportunistic.
I’ll take it.
The interesting thing is CharlieH, is that this team is winning with many of their cylinders not firing. Lindor has been terrible considering what was expected, and McNeil and Nimmo; despite the timely hits and RBI’s, are overall under performing. No power from Alvarez yet, and Alonso just gives us empty homers.
Like Metstabolism pointed out, the bench is doing great, but it would really help if the above starters really started hitting. I also am leery about JDM being seen as a “saviour’ for the lineup. At the same time, I’d like to see more of Taylor.
Am just as excited about what is going on in Syracuse. Vientos will either be a valuable trade chip come the trade deadline, or a replacement for either Alonso or Baty if either gets hurt.
Really though, the biggest difference has been the bullpen. I know we have 90% of the season still to play, but give Stearns credit for what he has done*
* although why p/u Tonking again is a bit of a head scratcher for me.
I take issue with a couple of your comments:
Not sure what an empty homerun is, but Alonso certainly doesn’t hit them. His April 9th homerun brought us back from 6-0 to 6-3 in a game we lost by 2. And I’m pretty sure he has more late and close homeruns than any other hitter in baseball since he debuted.
Michael Tomkin – they picked back up because they didn’t really want to lose him in the first place and now they have more flexibility with him. He can be serviceable as a long man out of the pen so long as he isn’t used in tight/close games as Brian has correctly observed a few times.
Tyrone Taylor – has played as many games as Francisco Alvarez. Mendoza has been using him just about perfectly, which might be why he’s producing so well.
Forgot what I actually came back to mention. We haven’t discussed it much, but Eric Chavez is back as the hitting coach. Causation doesn’t equal correlation of course, but that was a big missing piece last year.
Sorry that you took issue with my previous comment. I actually concur with you that this team does remind me of the 2022 squad in that the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts”. I was just commenting on the fact that this team is certainly not yet firing on all its cylinders.
My comment about Alonso and “empty homeruns”, does seem harsh, but I will stand by it. Of his six homers so far, I believe his most “clutch” was on 4/4, when his 9th inning blast was the first run of a 2-1 Mets win. Not sure about him being the author of more late inning or close HR’s then anyone else since his debut though.*
Look, I like Alonso, and do wish he would stay a career Met, but he’s certainly not an elite player, not even by the standards of other 1B around. Certainly not worth the $$ being bandied about this past off season. Scott Boras’ clients found that out.
Anyhow, I’m excited about this team. Metstabolism is correct to point out they aren’t as bad as the 0-5 start had them, and also not as good as the 10-3 since then. But hey, that works out to a 90-72 record, and I’ll take that for a solid chance for a playoff spot.
* My “faulty” memory harkens to a late 2023 Brian article regarding the value of Alonso and his RBI opportunities compared with other MLB batters. It was also regarding the value of an expected long term contract for him.
What I like the best is that it has become a group effort with different parts of the lineup stepping up. Clearly they are not firing on all cylinders, give them some times, they will get there. Another great day of pitching from Severino’s six innings to the zeros put up by three relievers. Amazing how much easier it is to win when you score runs. If we play this brand of small ball with some long ball and for god’s sake keep stealing bases, we can compete. That’s all I ask. That and a series win against the Dodgers. ♂️