Via: Mets Twitter

Break up the Mets! The Mets have won five straight games (four depending on how you count the suspended game) and are on their way to Washington for a five-game series.

The Mets pulled off an amazing come from behind win in Game 1 of their doubleheader on Tuesday. They trailed 5-1 in the ninth but their bats showed up and pulled off a seemingly miraculous win. They won the second game 3-1 thanks to Michael Conforto and the bullpen. Wednesday’s game was rained out but they finished the sweep on Thursday by winning 4-3.

There were a lot of good things and fortunately for once, not as much bad. The Mets still have a deep ditch to dig themselves out of but hey, things are looking up!

3 Up

Signs of Life for Conforto? 

Between injuries and poor play, 2021 has not been Michael Conforto’s year. Conforto for the year is hitting .217/.340/.368 with a .318 wOBA and 103 wRC+. Conforto is almost certainly not going to achieve that level of success this year but his great series combined with his strong numbers in August show that he can still be a very productive hitter. Conforto hit .268/.388/.488 in August with a 143 wRC+ and for the series, he had a big walk-off hit in Game 1 of the doubleheader and a huge homer in Game 2. The Mets will need more of that Conforto if they have hopes at making one last run for the playoffs.

The Mets Bullpen

The bullpen has arguably the most consistent group of players for the team. Imagine saying that back in March? Over the last 14 days, the Mets have sported a collective 1.54 ERA, good for the lowest bullpen ERA in baseball over that time. In this series, the Mets put together a solid bullpen performance. In Game 1 of the doubleheader, they picked up Taijuan Walker by going four innings and giving up “two runs.” I am using quotes because this was the play that cost them.

In Game 2, Trevor Williams had four great innings before running into trouble in the fifth. He left runners on second and third with one-out for Aaron Loup. Loup walked a batter before coaxing a double play to keep it a 3-1 game in favor of the Mets. Seth Lugo also bent but did not break in the sixth. Edwin Diaz pitched a clean ninth to give the Mets their fourth straight win. In Thursday’s finale, Aaron Loup let an inherited runner score but kept the game tied to give the Mets a shot. Jeurys Familia, Trevor May, and Edwin Diaz all pitched scoreless innings to get the Mets the sweep.

Putting the Boos Behind Us

Well after the events of last weekend, Javier Báez got booed in his first at-bat of the doubleheader. That changed in the ninth of the game though. Báez beat out a ground ball for an infield hit, which brought the score to 5-4. He later scored on Michael Conforto’s walk-off single thanks to some very aggressive base running and Jorge Alfaro‘s inexperience in left field. Báez was subsequently cheered in his first at-bat in Game 2 for his efforts in Game 1. Hopefully this issue seems to be water under the bridge and everyone can move on from Thumbgate.

3 Down

Some Guys Have Not Gotten Going

With everyone healthy, some guys have been relegated to the bench. J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith have had a difficult time seeing the field and Jeff McNeil has been struggling. Jonathan Villar seems to have taken the third base job so the other three will likely share left field. With McNeil’s struggles and Smith’s big hit in last night’s game, I could see the Mets letting Dom handle left for a little while.

First Inning Blips for Cookie

Carlos Carrasco has had a strange return to the field. He has really struggled in the first inning but he has found a way to settle in after. Here is how stark his numbers are:

https://twitter.com/MetsMetrics/status/1433600323550056452?s=20

It might be a small sample but I would not be surprised if this is the by product of Carrasco’s warmup routine not working well for him. Hopefully this weird trend gets fixed for Carrasco though because he is too good and too important for this to continue in the long term.

Can’t Stay Out of the Off-Field Headlines

The Mets won five straight games but they still cannot manage to avoid the off-field stuff. Their acting GM was arrested for drunk driving and subsequently placed on administrative leave. It has almost become mind numbing at this point between all the other news cycles that have hit the Mets. It would certainly be way more fun to focus on the Mets trying to mount an amazing divisional race but alas, here we are again.