3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Avoid Sweep by Twins

The New York Mets have done a good job recently of avoiding being swept, and that was the case again against the Twins in Minnesota.

Thanks to some more DJ Stewart heroics, the Mets were able to beat the Twins on Sunday, meaning they’ve now prevented a sweep in four of their last six series played.

However, despite the fact that this team showed some fight in the series finale, their two losses to the Twins ensured that the Mets matched their season low by falling 13 games below .500. That serves as a somber reminder as to just how disappointing this year has been for a franchise that was supposed to be a legit World Series contender.

3 Up

DJ Is Back!

DJ Stewart has emerged as a real positive for the Mets in 2023, and as a potential piece for the 2024 season. The unlikely hero returned to the lineup in Minnesota after missing a handful of games with lower-back tightness. He made up for his absence in style in the series finale. Despite striking out three times against Minnesota right-hander Pablo López, Stewart remained locked in heading into the ninth inning. Down 0-2 in the count against reliever Griffin Jax, Stewart saved his best for last by ripping a double to the right-center-field gap to score two and seal the win for the Mets.

Stewart’s meteoric rise has been a lot of fun to watch, and he’s doing everything within his power to try and secure a full-time role in 2024. There’s enough of a sample size now to suggest that he can be a productive player in the major leagues for the Mets.

Coming Up Clutch

The Mets got three decent outings from their starters in Minnesota, but perhaps the best was saved for last as Tylor Megill delivered another gem of an outing. Engaged in a tense pitcher duel with Twins starter Pablo López —who was also stellar on Sunday—Megill did his job and played a huge role in the Mets picking up the win. The righty gave his team five shutout innings, allowing two hits and four walks with two strikeouts. After holding the Rangers to one run over six innings on Aug. 28, Megill has now put together two decent starts in three attempts and he could be an option for the N0. 5 spot in this rotation in 2024.

Avoiding The Worst

There was a collective gulp within the Mets organization on Sunday when rookie catcher Francisco Álvarez was drilled on the outside of his hand by Pablo López. It didn’t look good and Álvarez looked in a hell of a lot of pain, leading to many fearing the absolute worst. However, it appears the Baseball Gods were smiling down on the Mets with initial X-rays coming back negative. That’s positive news, although further imaging may be needed. However, the hope is that Álvarez has avoided anything serious and can continue to hone his craft in the bigs down the stretch.

3 Down

Something’s Got To Give

While it appears that the Mets have avoided the worst-case scenario with Francisco Álvarez, they are unwillingly playing a game of chicken with the amount of times hitters are being hit by pitches. Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor were also hit by pitches on Sunday, and the Mets lead the NL in that category this year with 94. This comes after the Mets set a record for hit by pitches with a whopping 112 times in 2022.

There appears to be no exact science behind why the Mets get pelted by so many pitches, but logic dictates that, sooner or later, a Mets hitter will get seriously hurt in the process. (Pete Alonso and Starling Marte have both missed time before as a result of a HBP.) And that’s not what we want, obviously. How you prevent racking up so many hit-by-pitches is an impossible question, but you can’t help but feel that the Mets are one hit-by-pitch away from losing a player to injury for a substantial amount of time.

Losing Control

It hasn’t been a great year for Drew Smith. The reliever has struggled for the most part, and those struggles continued in Minnesota on Saturday. Smith entered the game in the seventh inning with the Mets still very much in the contest. However, things unravelled quickly. Smith walked two batters and allowed four earned runs on three hits in a hugely damaging inning, including giving up a three-run triple to Max Kepler that did most of the damage.

Smith’s implosion effectively sealed the deal for the Twins, and Smith’s ERA now stands at 4.56 for the year. He has arguably been one of the biggest disappointments of a hot mess of a bullpen this year, and Smith’s penchant for falling behind in counts has resulted in a slew of long innings. Too many times this year the Mets have seen games get away from them late due to the failings of their bullpen, and Smith has perhaps been the biggest culprit of that. That was certainly the case in Minnesota on Saturday.

Growing Pains

Slumps are part of the game for any baseball player, even seasoned veterans who have been to All-Star Games and played for championships. Struggles are especially non-negotiable for rookies and young players, and they are crucial to the overall development of prospects. We need to keep that in mind when discussing Brett Baty‘s latest slump. Since being recalled by the Mets, Baty owns a .174/.174/.174 slash line in seven games. He struggled in Minnesota, going a combined 0-for-10 at the plate with five strikeouts. However, Baty continues to show improvement defensively and he will be better for some of the growing pains he’s endured offensively this year. You can only get better with more reps and Baty will have a chance to right the ship and finish strong down the stretch.

The 65-77 Mets open up a four-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on Monday, before taking on the Cincinnati Reds later in the week to finish what is a seven-game homestand.