3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Get Walloped By Braves

This past weekend was not a good one for the New York Mets. In fact, it got pretty damn ugly at points.

Yes, the Mets were able to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, winning the series finale 7-6 on Sunday. But even that victory was far from pretty.

Moral victories aside, New York was absolutely manhandled by a team that has entrenched itself as the Gold Standard in Major League Baseball this year.

3 Up

Some Fight

There are very few positives to take from a series where the Mets allowed a combined total of 40 runs and scored just 10 in return. That is the very definition of plunging to ugly new lows. However, at this point, small victories are going to be the name of the game and you have to give the Mets some credit for not imploding on Sunday.

Entering the series finale in last place in the NL East, this team at least showed a morsel of fight to avoid the sweep. And, yes, that means the Braves still have never swept a four-game series in Queens. Even after giving up three runs in the first inning, even after the House of Horrors bullpen did their best to allow Atlanta back into the game late, these Mets were able to roll up their sleeves and get the job done to ensure this weekend wasn’t a complete never-ending nightmare. That has to count for something.

Beacon Of Hope

Shining lights have been few and far between for the Mets this season. However, Kodai Senga has been the biggest beacon of hope and he showed that again on Sunday.

Despite enduring a nightmare start, in which he gave up a three-run double and allowed two walks, Senga dominated the Braves. He put just two runners on base from the second inning through to the sixth, striking out seven and walking just two on a season-high-tying 107 pitches, 67 of which were for strikes. Senga is now 9-6 on the year with a 3.30 ERA. With this season already buried, the Mets at least know they have a potential future ace under control in Senga, who is one of the only real certainties in this rotation going forward.

Unlikely Hero Emerges

Okay, so hero is a bit of a stretch but the Mets had an unlikely source to thank for avoiding the sweep on Sunday. Right in the thick of a six-run fifth inning was Rafael Ortega, who was batting ninth in the series finale. Now hands up if you correctly predicted we would be talking about Ortega being hot at the plate this late into the season. No disrespect to the veteran, of course. But it does sum up the state of the Mets’ season that a 32-year-old outfielder who has bounced around a lot was one of the biggest positives for an offense that probably wouldn’t do a lot of damage in Triple-A.

Nevertheless, Ortega sparked a big sixth inning for his team by hitting a single up the middle, before his single into right field scored two to really pad the Mets’ lead. Ortega finished his big night 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and he can wake up on Monday knowing he was the driving force behind a win that prevented a completely humiliating weekend.

3 Down

How Far The Mighty Have Fallen

Okay, the Mets have been anything but mighty all year, but they at least entered 2023 as supposed legit World Series contenders. The biggest payroll in baseball certainly lent a lot of credence to that tag. However, fast forward to the dog days of August, and Mets fans in attendance at Citi Field for this series may have been mistaken for thinking they were attending a Double-A game instead. The lack of depth on this roster was really telling as an embarrassing lineup was shutout on back-to-back days, while putting up just three runs in a humiliating 21-3 loss in Game 1 of the doubleheader on Saturday.

This offense continued to sink to all-new lows throughout this series. Perhaps the most telling, per OptaSTATS, was that the Mets are the only MLB team in the modern era to collect 7+ hits and draw 9+ walks in a nine-inning game but not score a single run. Ouch. They stranded 14 in Friday’s blowout loss, going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and the bats continued to stink on Saturday. Sunday proved to be the only saving grace.

As for the pitching, only Kodai Senga and José Quintana came out of this series with any credit, as has been a common trend for much of 2023. Tylor Megill allowed five earned runs on nine hits in his start on Friday, while Denyi Reyes was absolutely beaten up in his spot start in Game 1 on Saturday. Reyes allowed five runs on eight hits, before the bullpen – including infielder Danny Mendick – was rocked for 16 additional runs. You aren’t going to win a lot of baseball games with the level of talent the Mets are currently putting out on a consistent basis. (That’s partly the point.)

Reality Setting In

For some Mets fans, the spectacle of the Yankees blowing leads and inching closer to being a last-place team would have been incredibly amusing. That is until reality sets in and you remember the Mets are also on the cusp of finishing last. They actually were rock bottom of the NL East heading into Sunday, but the series finale win over the Braves lifted them out of the basement. For now.

If this team continues to field makeshift lineups – as they did on Saturday – the offense continues to blow more cold than hot, the bullpen continues to implode on a near-daily basis and only two starters in the rotation actually deliver, then there is a very likely chance that the 2023 Mets will finish bottom of the National League East. This series acted as a somber reminder of where this team is right now, and the end results this year could end up being pretty damning. After all, you can’t deny the fact that the Washington Nationals are fielding better talent right now, which could aid them in condemning the Mets to a last-place finish once all is said and done.

Worst To Come?

There will come a point, and it may be approaching rapidly, where the Mets might be better off to completely throw in the towel and shut it down completely. With the season already over, all the focus has to be on 2024. Therefore, now might be the time to start giving more game time to prospects. Likewise, it might be wise to rest veterans like Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, who both sat out Game 1 on Saturday with ailments.

With nothing left to play for, other than pride, what is the point of putting more wear and tear on the bodies of Nimmo, Lindor and Starling Marte too? At this stage, it would probably behoove the organization to sit down some of their veterans in order to ensure they are fresh and ready to go in 2024. It would also allow the front office to work out exactly what they have in the likes of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio, if the latter ever does get a call-up.

Yes, by doing so the Mets would almost certainly condemn themselves to a last-place finish but, at this point, finishing fourth would just be putting lipstick on a pig and 2024 has to be the absolute priority now. Admitting defeat and opening the door to more painful days in 2023 may actually yield some positive results down the road as far as next year is concerned.