3 Up, 3 Down: Mets A For Effort In Oakland

3 UP

Homecoming Kings

Chris Bassitt and Mark Canha came to the New York Mets after being important players for some Oakland Athletics postseason teams. They were greeted warmly by the crowd and received a tribute video. They both then went out and reminded the Athletics what made them so important to that franchise.

For the second time this season, Bassitt threw eight innings. He picked up his 15th win of the season after allowing just the two runs. This makes Bassitt the first Mets pitcher to win 15 games in a season since Jacob deGrom accomplished the feat in 2017.

Canha would also have a huge series. Over the three games, he was 5-for-13 with two doubles. He would also be hit by a pitch twice which was his specialty with the Athletics.

RBI King

With his homer in the top of the fourth, Pete Alonso became the Mets single season leader in RBI. His 128 RBI have surpassed the record shared by Mike Piazza and David Wright.

The RBI total also leads the National League. The last time a Mets player did that was in 1991. Coincidentally, when Howard Johnson had 117 RBI in 1991 it was the then Mets single season record.

This is all part of a big hot streak for Alonso as the Mets hit the stretch drive. Over his past 18 games, he is hitting .314/.395/.671 with four doubles, seven homers, and 22 RBI.

Vientos Figuring It Out

Each time Mark Vientos has been promoted in his professional career, he has struggled. After the early struggles, he goes on a tear which lasts a long time.

We may be seeing the beginnings of that tear. Vientos would hit his first career homer against the Atheltics. He would also have his first multi-hit game. In the series, he was 3-for-7 with a double, homer, and three RBI.

Perhaps of greater importance, Vientos drew two walks while striking out once. This could be indicative of his growing more comfortable and figuring things out at the plate.

If Vientos has indeed figured it out, he is going to make the Mets decision making all the more difficult. Darin Ruf is hitting .152/.216/.197 in 74 plate appearances with the Mets. If Vientos is hitting, he may force the Mets to carry him on the postseason roster.

3 DOWN

Somethings deWrong

When deGrom took the mound in his start, he had a 3-0 lead. We all just assumed the Mets were on their way to an easy win. After all, deGrom with actual run support should be an unstoppable force.

Well, as deGrom would admit after the game, he was not good. He had his worst start in years allowing five earned over four innings. Worse yet, he would walk five batters.

This now marks three straight starts he has allowed at least three earned runs. He had just set the Major League record of having 39 straight starts allowing three runs or fewer. More to the point, this is a pitcher who allows two or fewer is literally over half of his career starts.

What does this mean for deGrom? Well, nothing. It’s a blip. He is still coming back from injury, and ultimately, all indications are he will be fine and ready to dominate come postseason time.

Tired Bullpen

All season long, Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, and Trevor Williams have been dependable and able to answer the call. The exception was this series as all three relievers struggled.

The biggest surprise out of the group was the fact Williams was unable to give them any length after deGrom’s short start. With Ottavino, he would make another appearance, and the good news is he did pitch a scoreless inning after a tough outing.

In addition to the aforementioned pitchers, Joely Rodriguez‘s hot streak came to an end. In two-thirds of an inning, he would allow a run on two hits.

For the Mets, they need to balance winning the division with getting the bullpen operating at their peak come postseason. This is a tough and uneasy balance for Buck Showalter.

Mixed Marte News

The good news with Starling Marte is he’s healing. The fracture has shown improvement, and he’s permitted to do baseball activities as tolerated. That’s all well and good.

The problem is Marte is not yet ready to come off the IL. That’s very bad news. As we’ve seen since his injury Marte is an incredibly important presence on this team.

Of course, we should all keep in mind the target return for Marte was the Braves series. That return is presumably still in question.