3 UP

1. Going Streaking

The Mets were poised to have their six game winning streak snapped before Todd Frazier annihilated a Sean Doolittle pitch to tie the game at 6-6. The Mets would win that game on Michael Conforto‘s first walk-off hit.

The Mets fell behind Saturday 3-2 before Luis Guillorme hit his first career homer off Fernando Rodney. The Mets rally continued, and the Mets would take the lead with J.D. Davis hitting a go-ahead sacrifice fly.

The Mets are getting contributions from everyone on their roster. If that wasn’t apparent from Guillorme’s pinch hit homer, there was also Juan Lagares robbing Yan Gomes of an extra base hit. Things have been so good lately, Amed Rosario having a good series at the plate and an even better on in the field was overlooked.

The Mets winning streak would reach eight games, and they have now won 15 of their last 17. They have been the best team in the Majors since the All-Star Break with a 21-7 record. They are now eight games back in the division and one in the Wild Card. With the Mets taking two out of three from the Nationals, we see this is more about the Mets being a good team than them just beating up on bad teams.

2. Just Dingers

Since June 30, J.D. Davis hasn’t been just the best hitter on the Mets, he has been the best hitter in the National League. Yes, his 189 wRC+ is even better than Christian Yelich. Over this stretch, he is hitting .385/.442/.670 with eight doubles, six homers, and 16 RBI.

With him, it’s not just the numbers. He is getting big hits. On Friday, his fourth inning homer tied the game, and his ninth inning double started the game winning rally. On Saturday, his homer off Patrick Corbin got the scoring started, and as noted, it was his sacrifice fly which put the Mets ahead for good. Perhaps it is fitting that the one game he did not have an RBI was the one game the Mets lost in this series.

When you have runs like this, you have unexpected people step up and produce. Davis has been that player, and honestly, he has been much more than that. He’s been legitimately great.

3. Mets Fans in Postseason Form

This was a big August series, and Mets fans responded both in terms of attendance and the enthusiasm. Personally, I believed the crowd on Saturday was louder than when David Wright homered in Game 3 of the World Series.

Everyone noticed. Stephen Strasburg would politely challenge Nationals fans to raise their game. F.P. Santangelo of MASN commented how Citi Field was “buzzing.” The MLB Tonight crew discussed it.

Mets fans are truly great fans, and everyone is taking notice.

3 DOWN

1.Leaky Bullpen

You know things are going rough for the Mets bullpen when Seth Lugo finally allows a run in the series. Really, with the exception of Brad Brach and Jeurys Familia, each member of the Mets bullpen had at least one rough moment in this series.

The worst of the group was Edwin Diaz. Once again, he came into a game, and he struggled. At a time when the Mets were as hot as they’ve been in four years, Diaz came into a situation in the ninth inning, and he would allow a two run homer to Victor Robles making the Mets comeback chances all the more difficult.

So far, this year, Diaz has lost the full-time closer’s job. He has a career worst 5.60 ERA, 1.467 WHIP, 9.8 H/9, 2.2 HR/9, and a 74 ERA+. Arguably, he is the Mets worst reliever right now. This has begun discussions as to whether he should be demoted to the minor leagues to get himself right.

2. Two Mets Killers

Mets fans are well aware Anthony Rendon is a Mets killer. He would further cement that status hitting a go-ahead three run homer off Justin Wilson on Friday. In the pivotal series between the two teams, Rendon was great going 7-for-14 with four runs, a triple, homer, and three RBI.

As great as he was Juan Soto was even better hitting three homers in the series with five RBI. He would walk three times and strike out just twice. Each one of his homers seemed like daggers at the time. Overall, he was 5-for-10 in the series with a double, three homers, and five RBI.

The hope for Mets fans is Rendon will be on a different team come this offseason. As for Soto, well, he will be in Washington through the 2024 season, and with his being just 20 years old, he promises to be a much better player in each of the ensuing seasons.

3. So close

With the way the Mets are playing, we should not dwell on any of their losses. Even yesterday, they fought back from a 3-0 first inning deficit, and when they were down 5-3, they would put together another rally scoring a run on a Conforto seventh inning sacrifice fly.

Things fell apart from there highlighted by a very bad third strike call to Davis and a Ramos liner which hung up just long enough for Gerardo Parra. The bullpen then made things a little more difficult.

If the Mets had won the game, they would be tied in the loss column for the second Wild Card spot. Instead, they are just one game out. In some ways, it’s a lost opportunity to not just get that tie, but it was also a missed chance to deliver that 2015 like blow the Mets seemed poised to deliver.

Again, with the way this team is playing, this game won’t matter all that much. In fact, if they take care of business in Atlanta, that loss will be a distant memory, and they will suddenly be talking more about the division than the Wild Card.