3 UP

1. Wheels Up

Throughout his Mets career Zack Wheeler has had a continuous Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde routine. This could be from start-to-start, inning-to-inning, or even pitch-to-pitch.

Well, he’s beginning to find some consistency, and he’s pitched at least six innings in four straight starts, which is the first time he’s done that since 2014.

More than that, he was brilliant against the Orioles pitching seven shutout innings allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five. Over his last four starts, Wheeler owns a 2.52 ERA (seven earned runs/25.0 innings) with 24 strikeouts and five walks in that span.

Given his .286 batting average this season, you have to question why he’d ever get lifted for a pinch hitter, especially when he had a game like this going.

2. Bullpen In Great Shape

Prior to the bats going completely silent, the issue with this Mets team had been a heavily taxed and ineffective bullpen. With the Mets finally getting some luck on the health front, the bullpen is once again in great shape.

Noah Syndergaard being on schedule to be activated this weekend allowed the Mets to move Seth Lugo back to the bullpen, and he responded with three scoreless innings.

Anthony Swarzak returned from the disabled list and tossed a scoreless inning against Baltimore in his return. The Mets rolled the dice this offseason and rewarded Swarzak with a two-year deal after a career-best season.

Suddenly, the Mets bullpen looks much better, and it more closely resembles the group who had a terrific start to the season.

3. Plawecki Strong Play

In a series where the Mets did just about nothing, Kevin Plawecki was the lone bright spot going 2-for-7 with a double and a walk.

On the season, Plawecki now has a solid .375 OBP. With his strong play behind the plate and his ability to get on base, he is one of the few Mets who has earned his playing time.

3 DOWN

1. No One Can Hit

The Mets were supposed to get healthy against an Orioles team considered to be the wurst in all of baseball. It never happened as the Mets can’t hit the broad side of a barn right now.

In this brief two games series, Mets pitchers shined brightly, allowing just three runs and they still got swept! The issue is the lack of offense as evidenced by the Mets scoring just one run in the series. This isn’t just one or two players struggling, it’s everyone.

The team has scored just two runs in its last 42.0 innings and were shut out for the fifth time this season, all of them at home.

2. Cabrera Fell Back to Earth

Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera had an amazing start to the season offensively, playing at an MVP level and helping the team get off to an 11-1 start. In many ways, he was carrying the team offensively but also masking some of the underlying issues facing the team.

Since that time, he’s suffered a few minor injuries, and his play has fallen off a cliff to the point he’s become one of the biggest concerns for the team. Since May 1, Cabrera is hitting just .244/.273/.425 – and as bad as that is – he has been the worst defensive second baseman in the majors with a -11 DRS.

3. The Beltran Treatment

Well, the Mets love affair with Yoenis Cespedes is now officially over.

According to several reports. many in the organization have openly questioned just how hurt Cespedes is and just how motivated he really is to return to the lineup. That’s always an unfair and dangerous game. To compound matters, Cespedes informed the team that he will no longer speak to the media.

Mets brass once played a similar game with Carlos Beltran, publicly questioning the seriousness of a lingering knee injury. Ultimately Beltran ignored the team’s advice and opted to have season-ending knee surgery which helped save his Hall of Fame career.

The Mets pressuring Beltran to play was wrong, and it’s just as wrong with Cespedes. For three straight seasons, the team hesitated to put their star slugger on the DL after suffered a leg or quad injury. Instead of throwing another key player under the bus, maybe they should consider the consequences of their own misguided actions regarding player injuries over the last few years.