3 Up, 3 Down: Injury-Hit Mets Take Series Vs. Dodgers

What a weekend full of ups and downs for the New York Mets in Los Angeles.

New York took two of three from the Dodgers to win a fifth straight series. That was the good. However, the team was hit with bad news on the injury front.

Furthermore, there is legitimate concern over the backend of the rotation. And there are now question marks over how the offense and the bullpen will cope without two key pieces.

So, on that note, let’s dive into the good, the bad and the ugly from the weekend series in LA in another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

FUN RIDE

Aside from Sunday’s blowout, this was another impressive weekend for the Mets. They took two of three from a juggernaut Dodgers team in style. Sure, this was an LA team mired in a slump. Granted, this was also a Dodgers team getting little to no production from the bottom of the lineup. However, there is still a lot of star power there, and the two wins the Mets claimed were mighty impressive. Saturday’s victory was all about coming up clutch in big spots. As for Friday, blowing a lead only to come back and win the game should tell you all you need to know about this gutsy Mets team. They are a lot of fun to watch right now.

BULLPEN PROWESS

It is funny how things work out sometimes. There were significant concerns over the state of the Mets bullpen entering the season. Fast forward to now, however, and it is a real strength of this team. Sure, it is still early, but we can only judge what is in front of us right now. And the bullpen has delivered thus far. The standout of that group is without a doubt, Reed Garrett, the best reliever in baseball at the time of writing this. The veteran picked up his first big league save in Saturday’s win and has now struck out 21 of the 41 batters he’s faced. Furthermore, Garrett hasn’t allowed an earned run in 10 2/3 innings. It is quite the success story, and in many ways, Garrett is the epitome of a bullpen that has exceeded all expectations so far.

BOUNCING BACK

This was a big series for a few Mets who have struggled to start the year. Francisco Lindor, the biggest example of that, broke out in a big way in LA. He crushed the go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning of Friday’s win before driving in the insurance run the following day. Lindor hit .417/.417/.750/.1.167 with five hits, two runs scored, one double, one home run and four RBIs in three games against the Dodgers. It was also a great weekend for Starling Marte, who went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs scored and a homer in Saturday’s win. He also scored two runs and had two RBIs on Friday. DJ Stewart was another who continued to put his struggles behind him, hitting a home run and finishing with three RBIs in the first game of the series. Sunday aside, everything was clicking for the offense in LA.

3 DOWN

BODY BLOW

The only thing that can slow the Mets down right now is injuries. Unfortunately, that is starting to happen. The biggest blow came Friday night when Francisco Alvarez left the game with a thumb issue. The phenom catcher will now undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his left thumb and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. That is a hugely significant blow given how well Alvarez has begun the year behind and at the plate. He was hitting .236/.288/.364/.652 with a homer and eight RBIs prior to getting hurt. Time will tell if the Mets can continue playing as well as they have without Alvarez’s big bat in the lineup.

BULLPEN SETBACK

As great as the bullpen has been for the Mets, it won’t take much for the wheels to fall off given the boom-or-bust makeup of the relievers in that group. As such, Brooks Raley going down injured could really hurt the Mets. Raley is suffering from elbow inflammation and will miss at least two weeks. Raley has been a big part of that group’s success this year, allowing just two hits and three walks with no runs while striking out nine. The Mets bullpen owns the best bullpen ERA in the NL – 2.95 – but there could be some regression now that Raley is out of action.

END THE EXPERIMENT 

Maybe it is time to remove Adrian Houser from the backend of the rotation. The veteran was brought in to be a stabilizing presence, but instead, he has been an unmitigated disaster. The latest implosion came on Sunday when the righty was shelled for eight runs on seven hits and four walks in four innings. Houser has now allowed an alarming 14 walks over 19-plus innings. His ERA on the season is an ugly 7.45. As a result, maybe it is time to take Houser out of the rotation and allow him to hit the reset button. That might be the best path moving forward.