3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Avoid Reds Sweep

The New York Mets had their bats to thank after preventing a sweep to the Cincinnati Reds.

After dropping the first two games of the series at Citi Field, the offense exploded for eight runs on Sunday to help back up another strong start from veteran starter José Quintana.

There’s now just two weeks remaining in the regular season for the Mets, and it is important for this team to continue to assess what they have and what areas they will need to address heading into the offseason.

3 Up

Milestone Magic

It isn’t how you start, but how you finish. That was a mantra Quintana could relate to on Sunday. Making his 300th career start, the lefty overcame a rough start to deliver yet another quality start in a Mets uniform. Quintana gave up three hits in the first inning alone, gifting the Reds a 1-0 lead in the process. However, the veteran is nothing but resilient and he bounced back with scoreless frames in the second and third innings. And, despite allowing a solo home run to Nick Senzel, Quintana finished strong and left the mound having given up just two earned runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out two over 6 2/3 innings.

Quintana lowered his ERA to 3.02 in the process, and he’s now allowed just five runs in his past four starts. That’s good for a stellar 1.82 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. Given how dominant Quintana has been in 11 starts, you do wonder if things would have been different had he not missed a large chunk of the year with injury. However, what is done is done and the Mets can at least proceed with confidence knowing they can build the starting rotation around Quintana and Kodai Senga in 2024. A fully healthy Quintana for the entire year should ensure that the starting rotation is at least a little bit better next season.

Giving Props

This feature has gotten used to slamming the bullpen for most of the year given that it has been an absolute house of horrors for the most part. However, we also believe in fairness here, and that’s why it is time to give full props to Brooks Raley. The lefty reliever entered the game on Sunday in the eighth and threw a scoreless inning. That’s significant because, not only did it help secure the win and avoid a series sweep, but Raley has now gone six innings without allowing a single run in the month of September. He has allowed only one hit and struck out nine while not walking anyone in that span. That’s impressive, especially considering the fact the rest of the bullpen has been a hot mess. Raley finishing hot down the home stretch increases his chances of having his option for 2024 picked up by the Mets, and he could be a useful piece to have in what will likely be a new-look bullpen next year.

Leaving His Mark

Mark Vientos is showing us all something at just the right time. The final months and weeks of the regular season were always going to be about developing the team’s young talent, ensuring that they all enter spring training with an edge. Well, Vientos is going to approach 2024 with a huge edge based on current evidence. The rookie went 3-for-4 in the series finale on Sunday, hitting an RBI single and giving his team a massive insurance run. He racked up a career-high three hits, showing newfound discipline at the plate, and he also stole his first career base in the majors. It continued a hot streak for Vientos, who has recorded a hit in every game but one since September 12. Considering that all of his exit velocities on Sunday reached triple digits, the 23-year-old is heading in the right direction and this version of Mark Vientos could prove to be a very productive player for the Mets in 2024.

3 Down

Time Running Out

With roughly two weeks remaining, the Mets don’t have a whole lot of time left when it comes to carrying out evaluations on certain players. That includes the Baby Mets. The long process to determine Ronny Mauricio‘s long-term position continued in this series with the rookie getting reps at third base over the weekend. Now, he did commit an error at third that led to an unearned run being scored on Friday, but he would recover and later showed off his impressive arm strength by throwing out Tyler Stephenson. And that’s just one game. Errors happen, especially for rookies still learning the position. The bigger problem, however, is that the Mets still don’t truly know what they have in Brett Baty, who has missed the last four games with a groin strain. In an ideal world, Baty would be in the lineup right now so that the front office could evaluate all of their potential options at third base together. Time is running out, and the Mets need to enter spring training with at least some idea of what they are going to do at third base in 2024.

Facing Traffic

Tylor Megill will hope to enter the offseason knowing he has a chance to battle for a spot in the starting rotation in 2024. Well, his latest start on Saturday probably didn’t help his case. Megill faced constant traffic on the basepaths as he put runners on the corners in the second inning. An error would score a run and tie the game, while Megill proceeded to give up a two-run shot to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the third to make it a 3-1 game in Cincinnati’s favor. And Megill continued to struggle before he was pulled after 5 2/3 innings. He allowed at least one baserunner to reach base in every inning, allowing nine hits in total and two walks. While he did a good job of limiting the damage, it still wasn’t an encouraging outing and Megill will have to show a lot more if he wants to play a big role for the Mets in 2024.

Ultimate Letdown 

It would have been fascinating to be inside the head of Pete Alonso on Friday night. The star slugger had just blasted his 45th homer of the year to score three runs and make it a tie game with one massive swing. It was typical Alonso coming to save the day for his team yet again. However, the heart attack waiting to happen that is the bullpen struck again. Grant Hartwig, who entered the game in the sixth, gave up a two-run homer to Jonathan India that gave the Reds a 5-3 lead, one they never gave up the rest of the way. The Mets did so well to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole and come back but, sadly, Hartwig was unable to get the job done and it was a very similar sorry ending from the bullpen. That will be one of the biggest areas of need for the front office to address this coming offseason.