The New York Mets have won 10 of their last 13 games after starting off the season with a 0-5 record. They just completed the sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field and are now on the road to the west to face off against one of the best teams in the league, the Los Angeles Dodgers. But what has been going so well for the Mets in this current stretch? Let’s take a dive into it all.
In the series finale against the Pirates, Luis Severino pitched a solid six innings for the Mets, with zero earned runs and four strikeouts. He currently has a 2.14 ERA and a 2-1 record with New York. The Mets starting pitching staff has held down the fort enough to where the offensive could put up runs to win game after game.
Pete Alonso had himself a week, as he was named National Player of the Week on Monday by the MLB. In the past week, he has slashed .429/.556/1.048 with four home runs, seven RBIs, and a 305 wRC+. For the entire season, he holds a .261 batting average, .906 OPS, 10 RBIs and six home runs, which is tied for fourth in the MLB. This week, he improved his numbers to .271/.358/.593, with six homers and 10 RBIs. Over the six games against the Atlanta Braves and the Kansas City Royals, the first basemen had multiple hits in four of them, including a 3-for-3 performance on Saturday. Alonso additionally drew six walks, which allowed him to reach base in every game over the week; he drew three walks in the two games where he went hitless. Alonso was able to majorly raise his batting average and his on base-percentage from his offensive explosion.
David Stearns, the New York’s new President of Baseball Operations, is pleased with the way the squad has been playing recently. He touched on a number of topics in his latest press conference, from the team’s chemistry and the job manager Carlos Mendoza has done so far.
“I love late-inning comebacks and exciting baseball. And certainly, the activity on the bases late in the game certainly shows that we can be a multi-dimensional team, creating runs in a variety of different ways,” said Stearns. “But more than anything, the last couple of nights last week, just the energy coming from the team I think has been great for all of us to see.
“That’s really tough for us to manufacture from a front office perspective, like it just has to sort of happen, ” Stearns added. “And it’s a product of coaches and a coaching staff working really hard to create an atmosphere. It’s a product of players believing in each other, and I genuinely enjoy spending time with each other. And so, to see that early in the season, on a couple of different nights, has been great for me to see.”
One positive for the Mets is that right fielder Starling Marte looks healthy once again. This is a great sign for the team, as they were reliant on Marte’s offense in their 101-win 2022 season. Additionally, Brett Baty has solidified the third base position and has had quality play on that side of the infield. Baty’s performance in the hot corner is huge, as the Mets have stars on the other side of the infield with shortstop Fransico Lindor and Alonso, as well as do-it-all utility man and primary second basemen Jeff McNeil.
Having Edwin Diaz back and fully healthy has been a huge boost for New York’s pitching staff. It has made their bullpen that much stronger as they know they have a lights-out pitcher to close out close ninth inning games. Diaz has been posting save after save, recently recording the100th save of his Mets career. The closer has allowed just one earned run over seven innings in the bullpen. Diaz has been looking like the dominant reliever that the Mets had two years ago prior to him on the bench all last season with a knee injury.
“I feel good, man. I feel amazing. My arm feels great,” Diaz said after his fourth save of the season in a comeback, 6-3 victory over Pittsburgh at Citi Field. “I’ve been able to work, bounce back really well, so I feel really good.”
“And you’re going to go through ups and downs,” said Stearns.” You’re going to go through losing streaks and winning streaks and understanding that it is a long season and there are going to be times that are tough. And believe in yourself and believe in the process and I think he’s done a great job of doing that.”
The Mets have done a total 180-degree shift from the way they were playing at the beginning of the season. After earning wins over quality teams like the Braves and the Royals and earning their first sweep of the season over the Pirates, things are looking up in Queens. They now have a tall task in California this weekend against Los Angeles, the biggest test for this Mets team so far. But their latest performances may be a wakeup call to all baseball fans, as the Mets have been a better team than many originally thought.