Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets were unceremoniously swept in Boston. They have fallen to 73-79 and are now battling the Rockies and Angels for a top-10 pick.

The Mets actually had a lead in the first game of this series. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead but the Red Sox got to Marcus Stroman in the fourth and fifth inning. He left with a 4-2 deficit and the Mets never recovered. In the second game, Taijuan Walker struggled immensely and new Met-killer, Kyle Schwarber, hit two homers off him in just two innings. The Mets never really had a chance as Walker just lasted two innings. Boston pretty much obliterated the Mets in this series and sent them shipping up to Milwaukee. That will be my only Dropkick Murphys reference.

3 Up

Hembree Did Well 

Heath Hembree has been throwing the ball really hard this season and he’s quietly striking out 34.7% of the hitters he has been facing. He has a 4.22 ERA and 3.63 FIP as a Met and a 3.11 xERA for the season. He pitched two scoreless innings on Tuesday night. For someone who will at most get $2-$4 million this off-season, I wouldn’t hate seeing the Mets give him a shot at competing in their bullpen next season.

McNeil Looks Better 

Over the last two weeks, Jeff McNeil has hit .297/.333/.486 with a 125 wRC+. Wednesday night was no different as McNeil had a two-hit game against Chris Sale last night. The Mets can certainly use the hitter that has shown up over the last two weeks as they head towards 2022.

Alonso Homers

There isn’t a whole lot to be “Up” for the Mets. But Pete Alonso did hit his 34th on Tuesday night’s game in the 8th inning. He also hit his 35th homer last night. Pete will try to get to 40 over the next 10 games or so. It will certainly be an impressive personal milestone for him.

Sep 22, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Kyle Schwarber (18) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run against the New York Mets in the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

3 Down

Walker’s ERA 

Here is a tweet that basically sums up Taijuan Walker‘s season:

Walker gave up a solo homer in the first inning to Kyle Schwarber. Then he walked Xander Bogaerts, gave up a hit to Rafael Devers, and gave up a RBI single to J.D. Martinez. The second inning went worse. Hunter Renfroe doubled, Jose Iglesias walked, Kikè Hernandez hit a RBI double, and Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run home run. This has been more common than uncommon in the second half. It has been discussed a lot but this is his first full season since 2017. I do think he will be better than this next season but I also do not  think the regression was a complete fluke. Ideally, he is the Mets #5 starter next year who puts up an ERA of about 4 or so.

Stroman’s Outing

Stroman’s outing last night was a rare bad one but it was nonetheless a bad one. Stroman escaped a bases loaded, no-out situation in the third inning of the game but he was not as lucky in the fourth and fifth. He gave up back-to-back doubles to Bobby Dalbec and Christian Vazquez in the fourth and gave up homers to Xander Bogaerts and Kikè Hernandez in the fifth inning. Stroman is on track to face the Marlins next week in what should be his final start of the season. All told, Stroman did very well to bet on himself and take the qualifying offer.

Getting Outclassed

I think this series just showed how far behind the Mets are from being World Series contenders. As fun as the Yankees series was, they did nothing to build on it. They really do need a big off-season starting with hiring the right president of baseball ops. Getting outclassed by the team who’s architect is the guy the Mets passed on for their GM position definitely stung. They need to start this off-season on the right foot and move accordingly.