3 UP

1. Frazier Grinding

In April, way back when things were going well, Todd Frazier was in the middle of everything with his Salt-and-Pepper t-shirts and his bat.

Once again, Frazier is back in the mix, and he’s leading the way with an eight game hitting streak.

Over the eight games, he’s 13-for-36 with two doubles, two homers, two walks, and nine RBI.

Over this stretch, the Mets are 8-3, which may not be too much of a coincidence when you consider how much a healthy and productive Frazier both lengthens the lineup and keeps the team loose.

2. Five Alive

After getting hit on the wrist on June 24, Brandon Nimmo went into a funk. Over his next 35 games, he hit .174/.317/.270 while striking out 32.4 percent of the time.

Recently, he’s had a better approach with him looking to go the opposite way, and if there are any lingering symptoms of the aforementioned hit by pitch, they do not seem to be affecting his play.

Over the past 10 games, Nimmo is hitting .441/.525/.853 with seven doubles, two triples, a homer, and seven RBI.

That includes his 5-for-5 game against the Orioles last night when he fell a homer short of the cycle.

3. Drewing Well

Chances for the young Mets right-handed relievers have been difficult to come by, and as a result most of them have struggled.

The one reliever who hasn’t is Drew Smith.

In Smith’s eight appearances, he has a 2.00 ERA and a 1.333 WHIP.

With these performances, Smith has shown enough to merit more appearances and higher leverage situations. Hopefully, he will get them.

3 DOWN

1. Age Before Beauty

In the two game series, Jose Bautista, Austin Jackson, and Jose Reyes all received more plate appearances than Amed Rosario.

Rosario is a 22-year-old shortstop who is supposed to be the future of the franchise. The other three are 31+ year old pending free agents, who should be nothing more than bench players if they return next year.

With the Mets being 16 games under .500, you really have to question their rationale for distributing playing time in this fashion.

2. Peterson Over-Matched

After an impressive debut, Tim Peterson had been crashing down to Earth with him allowing at least one earned in nine of his last 11 appearances.

As such, he has a 13.50 ERA and a 2.207 WHIP.

Those numbers and his stuff are not yet ready for the majors.

3. Uproar over Keith’s Comments

After Jose Urena hit Ronald Acuna with the hardest first pitch he has thrown this season, Keith Hernandez offered his typical old-school, hard-nosed perspective.

Now, Keith’s comments have been misconstrued to mean he advocated throwing 98 MPH fastballs designed to injure someone. He didn’t say that.

Rather, he advocated for moving a player’s feet or making that player uncomfortable at the plate.

Whether it was fans loudly cheering Noah Syndergaard‘s first pitch in Game Three if the 2015 World Series, or their demanding Shawn Estes hit Roger Clemens, it’s a style of baseball Mets fans have long advocated and celebrated.

Given that, it’s a surprise to hear people question Keith for his giving a fair and reasonable view of the situation. If you pay attention to what Keith said, while he may not have had an issue with hitting Acuna, he was not advocating for the reckless behavior Urena exhibited.

No one is.