The New York Mets entered the rubber game with the Minnesota Twins coming off a disheartening 6-3 defeat. Tylor Megill labored throughout, allowing eight hits and four runs in five innings. Sloppy fielding by Francisco Lindor, his fourth error in 17 games, added to Megill’s difficult work.
Lindor also experienced a difficult day at the plate, going 1 for 5 and striking out while representing the tying run in the 9th. He is hitting .219 with a .313 slugging percentage with one home run and six runs batted in. He notoriously starts slow, and his track record indicates he will snap out of it. Last season, when he finished runner-up in the MVP race, he hit just .198 with a .349 slugging percentage in his first 48 games.
The Mets’ bullpen has been the early-season highlight. The relief corps has a 2.18 earned run average, third best, and was called upon to start the game yesterday due to Griffin Canning’s illness. It gave New York a chance to win.
Huascar Brazoban went in the first inning and retired the side in order. He has been fantastic this season with a 0.73 ERA and becoming the pitcher New York thought it was getting at last season’s Trade Deadline.
Justin Hagenman followed, making his MLB debut. He impressed, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts. New York’s bullpen is one of the deepest in the game. Could it be adding another valuable arm?
The relief corps kept the Twins at three runs and gave the Mets an opportunity for a comeback, which they nearly pulled off in the eighth. Bullpen games stretch the arms as five to seven pitchers usually appear; New York’s relief corps held its own and showed again why it is so valuable.
Pete Alonso, once again, participated in a run-scoring rally. He doubled in the eighth to score Lindor and later came around to score. He is now hitting .365 with a 1.204 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has five HR’s, eight doubles, and 21 RBI in 18 games.
Most tellingly are Alonso’s walks, 12. He is making pitchers work and waiting for a hitter’s pitch. Last season, he usually chased, especially with men on base.
Juan Soto’s presence has contributed to Alonso’s magnificent start by relaxing him. Mets fans, happy to see Alonso on fire, have been eager to see Soto do the same. Soto, while getting on base consistently, hadn’t hit a HR in nearly two weeks heading into Minnesota.
Soto looked like a streak might be on hand by going yard in the first two games. His HR in the first game clinched Monday’s 5-1 victory, while he was the most productive hitter in Tuesday’s loss. He followed this up, though, by going 0-5 yesterday and striking out three times, including in New York’s three-run eighth inning. His early-season ups and downs seem likely to stay for a little while longer.
General Manager David Stearns and Manager Carlos Mondoza planned to platoon Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuna until Jeff McNeil’s return. Acuna has forced them to change their thinking. He excels in the field, making highlight reel plays a daily occurrence. Over his last six games, he is hitting .429 with six hits, six runs, and three stolen bases.
Acuna has taken over the second base role, at least for now. That poses a trickier question. Should he give up the position when McNeil comes back? McNeil is a proven bat who won the batting title in 2022 but struggled mightily in 2023 and was plagued by injuries last year.
McNeil also lacks the stolen base threat and is not as skilled defensively as Acuna. McNeil, when he comes off the injured list, likely will start at second, creating a numbers crunch. Management will have to be creative to find playing time for Acuna, he has earned it.
New York is experiencing the same problem that it dealt with last year. The bats are good at getting on base but struggle terribly to bring them home. The Mets have lost seven times, and dreadful hitting with RISP was the prime reason for six defeats.
Yesterday encapsulated New York’s inability to produce clutch hits. The Mets had golden opportunities to score in the second, fourth, and fifth innings. Each time, they had multiple runners on, including a bases-loaded spot in the fifth. Each time, the bats failed.
New York came back in the eighth to tie, yes, but it could have been more. Soto struck out, short-circuiting a bigger rally. Brandon Nimmo responded to back-to-back doubles by grounding out. Tyrone Taylor followed Acuna’s single and stolen base with a lineout to left.
Alonso walked in the 10th to put men on first and second with no outs. It seemed like the Mets had all the momentum from the comeback and a prime opportunity to score. Instead, Jesse Winker hit into a double play, and Nimmo popped out. The Twins immediately responded with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the inning.
New York is 11-7 and in first place. The Mets have a dominant bullpen, which shows no signs of letup. Their starting rotation, behind dominating performances by Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes, has taken a huge step forward. Alonso is a clear MVP candidate. There is much to like.
New York’s inability to produce in the clutch, though, is holding the team back. Yesterday, the Mets went 3 for 12 with RISP, leaving nine men stranded on base. Hits in the earlier innings would have added at least a few runs and put them in a position to grab hold of the game.
New York is hitting just .166 with RISP and .191 with men on. This indicates a mental block and/or a faulty approach. The lineup has accomplished hitters throughout, yet they don’t seem to trust what got them there in the pressure situations.
The hitters tend to expand their zone and chase when facing run-scoring opportunities. It should be the opposite. Take pitches and wait for a hitter’s pitch. They do this when bases are empty because they continuously put men on base. Why not with runners on?
Mendoza and co-hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez are tasked to find a solution. Fixing the clutch-hitting ineptitude will likely require something bold. Some MLB players, like former Atlanta Braves closer John Smoltz, went to sports psychologists to help them handle stress. That may be needed here.
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