3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Clinch Marlins Sweep

For once, it was a very good weekend in New York Mets land.

The Mets dominantly swept the Marlins at Citi Field. As a result, they have now won four straight while finishing the homestand 4-2.

There is still a long way to go for this team to prove they have what it takes to mount a true turnaround. Still, it felt good to see this ballclub take care of business in a big way for once.

On that note, let’s recap everything from the Marlins series in the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down …

3 UP

SIGNS OF LIFE

For the first time in a while, the offense delivered consistent results. The Mets outscored the Marlins 25-9 over the three games. Yes, Miami is hardly a world beater, but this same team did sweep New York in late May. And, given just how bad this offense has been, it doesn’t matter the opponent as long as runs are scored. MJ Melendez, Carson Benge, Hayden Senger, and Marcus Semien all came up with big and clutch hits over the weekend. In short, everyone contributed. Of course, one man in particular stole the show.

STAR ATTRACTION 

The aforementioned man we’re talking about is Juan Soto, obviously. The superstar hitter stayed on a heater against Miami, making sizable contributions in all three games. The highlight was a grand slam in the finale, which effectively put the game out of reach. Soto finished the series with five RBIs, two walks, and three runs scored. Furthermore, he’s hitting .356/.431/.822/.1.254 with seven home runs, 15 RBIs, six walks, and 12 runs scored over his last 12 games. That’s called leading by example.

RISING STAR

Christian Scott is having a moment right now. The righty is fast turning into a reliable arm for the Mets, and he delivered arguably his best outing of the year on Saturday. Scott allowed just one run on five hits with eight strikeouts over five innings. As a result, he picked up the first win of his major league career. Furthermore, Scott owns a 2.97 ERA on the year and continues to show plenty of promise.

3 DOWN

NOT SO FAST

As encouraging as this weekend was for the Mets, let’s pump the brakes a little bit. They haven’t done anything yet, and have a long way to go to earn back our trust. It is still too soon to give them the benefit of the doubt. We need to see a lot more over a longer stretch of time before we really buy back in. It is also worth remembering that the sweep came against a bad Marlins team. Furthermore, the Mets have shown signs of promise before, only to then immediately collapse like a cheap pack of cards. It is a start, but let’s see how June unfolds before we start buying back all our stock in this team.

SHORT STAYS

The rub on Freddy Peralta has always been that he’s incapable of going deep in games. That’s hardly changed in New York. He’s pitched six innings or longer just four times as a Met. In his latest outing on Friday, he lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing four runs. Plus, with a 3.55 ERA on the year, Peralta has been solid, but there needs to be a lot more to come.

ROUGH PATCH

It wasn’t the best of weekends for Tobias Myers. Usually so reliable, the righty gave up the two-run homer that blew a big lead and made it a tied game on Friday. Myers was then optioned so that a fresh pitcher could be called up. After giving up runs in five of his last seven outings, Myers will hope to get the train back on the tracks once he does return to the majors.