So much has been made about the pitching moves of Carlos Mendoza and the performances of the relievers so far in both the Wild Card and the divisional series that the offense has avoided scrutiny. Which is a good thing for the hitters, who were MIA against the Brewers and depending on mostly two players in the first two games against the Phillies.
The Mets ended the year with a .734 OPS, which ranked fifth among NL clubs. Now, with facing better pitchers in the playoffs, the expectation should be for a lower OPS than that in playoff series. But how much lower? In the Wild Card round, the Mets had an OPS of .568 which is pretty rotten. Jesse Winker made the most of having a triple and some HBPs and led the team with a 1.029 OPS. Pete Alonso, with his HR and 3 BB had a .972 OPS. The rest of the team was average or worse with the bats.
With the first two games of the NLDS in a hitter’s park in Philadelphia, the team has a solid .795 OPS with a combined 12 runs scored. On the surface, that seems pretty good. But it’s mostly driven by two players, with Mark Vientos having a 2.167 OPS – thanks to 2 HR and 1 2B – and Brandon Nimmo’s 1.278 mark, on the strength of going 4-9 with a HR.
The rest of the team so far in the NLDS has gone 10-53, which is a .189 AVG. Of those 10 hits, only one has gone for extra-bases, Alonso’s home run, which is a .245 SLG.
Jose Iglesias could use a day off. After a .286 OPS in 14 PA in the Wild Card series, he’s had two singles and a .500 OPS in the NLDS. Others with a sub-Plaweckian OPS are Francisco Alvarez with a .571 OPS, Harrison Bader (.400), Starling Marte (.125) and Tyrone Taylor and Luisangel Acuna, who’ve yet to reach base.
Yes, Zack Wheeler being virtually unhittable for seven innings in Game 1 has a lot to do with these poor results. But that just underscores the importance of the Mets’ hitters breaking out in the next two games – so they don’t have to face Wheeler again, this time in a win-or-go-home Game 5.
It’s not unusual for a role player to step up and give a strong performance in the playoffs, to help the big bats. Vientos and Nimmo are big bats for the Mets – who can step up and join them? It might be best to give more playing time to Winker, who’s reached base in five of his 10 PA here in the playoffs. Contrast that with Marte, who’s 0-6 here in the NLDS and lifetime in 72 PA in the playoffs has a .504 OPS.
Without a doubt, all of these numbers mentioned above happened in small sample sizes. One good or bad day by anyone could change the narrative completely. During the 162-game season, it makes sense to play the long game and not overreact to short-term performances.
But the playoffs are a different beast. You don’t have 100 or 50 or even 10 games to get out of a rut. It’s a “what have you done for me lately?” take on things. Hopefully a day off and a return home can revitalize a few of the players offensively. Because the Mets will need more from the vast majority of the team than they’ve received so far.
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Today’s game has a 5:08 start. Join us in the Game Chatter — https://substack.com/chat/1934025/post/d32fa824-e27a-4720-85e4-2190d37ffd23
Marte has been hitting into terrible luck while smoking the ball at least once or twice a game. I think he breaks out tonight with a big game. I don’t think you can take Alvarez or Iglesias out of the lineup because of Alvarez’ power potential and Iglesias speed, defense and contact oriented approach. And because their replacements are Torrens and Acuna. If they somehow get by the Phils and McNeil is back for the NLCS i can see Iglesias and Marte getting a little more a breather over the 7 game series.