3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Double Sweep

3 UP

Offseason in Bloom

The New York Mets sought to reshape their outfield this past offseason by signing Starling Marte and Mark Canha to play the corner positions. This series is the latest in how well it has worked out for the Mets.

In this series, Marte was 5-for-13 with three runs, two homers, and six RBI. The bigger story for Marte is how he has come back from tragedy.

After his beloved grandmother died, Marte has come back and played some of the best baseball of his career. Over the past 11 games, he is hitting .340/.365/.580 with a double, triple, three homers, and 11 RBI. He’s also 2/2 in stolen base attempts.

Canha has also been excelling of late hitting .315/.373/.444 with a double, two homers, and eight RBI over his past 13 games. More than that has been his versatility. He spelled an injured Brandon Nimmo in center and the lead-off spot, and we’ve also seen him play first.

Overall, these two players have added a new dynamic to this Mets team, and we are seeing a great Mets team as a result.

Homegrown Talent Getting a Chance

There had been advocates for Tomas Nido and Luis Guillorme to receive more playing time, but for one reason or another, it just never happened. For differing reasons, we are seeing them get their chance now, and they are running with it.

Since James McCann went down with an injury, Nido has a .658 OPS, which far exceeds the .471 one he had before McCann’s injury. That also includes his recording his first career four-hit game and his maintaining his usually terrific framing numbers. Overall, the Mets haven’t missed a beat since McCann hit the IL, and Nido is a large reason why.

Guillorme has just forced his way to more playing time. Since May 4, Guillorme has a .504 OBP. Read that again. He has been getting on base in over half of his plate appearances for almost a month now. He is also doing that while playing Gold Glove level defense.

In their careers, Nido and Guillorme have stuck with it despite seeing others get chances they probably deserved more. Now, they are just forcing their way into the lineup.

RBI Baseball

When you get mentioned alongside Mike Piazza, you know you have done something right. Well, that’s what Francisco Lindor has done by recording an RBI in 10 straight games. That ties him with Piazza for the second-longest mark in Mets history, and it puts him five behind Piazza’s record.

That’s not too bad for a player many Mets fans and analysts had written off after a cold May.

Lindor’s RBI streak has him with 43 RBIs. That is good for the second-best in the National League. It’s also good for second-best on the team as he trails Pete Alonso for the league lead. Thirty of Alonso’s 47 RBI have come in May. That 30 RBI was the most any Mets player has had in May.

This just speaks to how great the Mets are going. Lindor is out there setting records, and he’s out there chasing his teammate, who is setting records of his own.

3 DOWN

Nimmo’s Wrist

Brandon Nimmo was dealing with a wrist injury which led to his sitting out three games and not appearing at the plate over four games. When Nimmo did return to the lineup, he took a very uncharacteristic 0-for-5. That was compounded by the Nationals just being a terrible team.

The Mets were able to weather the early storm with Nimmo’s wrist partially because they’re a very good team. It is also because they were facing two bad teams. The Mets are about to embark on a very difficult road trip, and as a result, they’re going to need him near full strength.

Peterson Can’t Go Five

For just the second time in six starts this season, David Peterson did not go five innings. Peterson doing it this time cost him a win in what was a lopsided game. It also taxed the Mets bullpen.

This is part of a larger story with the Mets rotation. Right now, Chris Bassitt seems to be the only pitcher capable of giving the team length. All of the other starters are five-plus innings pitchers. They’re not going to give six-plus innings.

That is putting more onus on the bullpen, and it has led to the Mets starting to shuffle pitchers back and forth. That is all the more difficult this season with the new rules on how many times you can send a player down to the minors. Overall, the Mets bullpen has held up and had some surprising depth, but it is something we need to begin monitoring.

13 Years Later

As we have seen with Marte, life sometimes gets in the way, and there are off-the-field issues we’re unaware of. While this wasn’t a tragedy, it is a real shame it took 13 years for Carlos Carrasco‘s dad to see his son pitch in the Major Leagues.

Yes, the two have seen each other over the past 13 years, and Carrasco’s dad had previously tried to see his son pitch to no avail. However, it would finally happen, and he would see his son pick up his sixth win of the season in what has been a bounce-back season.

Yes, this is a feel-good story, but it is melancholy that it took this long. Even with all the success and the money, Carrasco still had to wait 13 years for this to happen. Hopefully, we can see Carrasco and the Mets arrange for his dad to see him pitch again this season.