3 UP
1. Mets Can Score Again
Sometimes, all you need to rejuvenate a moribund offense is a trip to Colorado. A couple of games in Arizona doesn’t hurt either.
After needing 15 games to score 31 runs, the New York Mets have scored 52 runs over their past six games.
Yes, Coors Field helps this, but Michael Conforto being Michael Conforto again also helps. To a lesser extent, the return of Wilmer Flores from the disabled list is a big upgrade for this team.
It should also be noted Dominic Smith has been a pleasant surprise of late. Over his final two games of the series, he was 3-for-6 with two doubles and a triple. These are positive steps for a young player who received an opportunity.
2. Best National League Outfielder
After being benched for under-performing veterans and even being demoted to Triple-A, Brandon Nimmo has finally accrued enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. Now that he has enough at-bats, you can now saw Nimmo has been the best outfielder in the National League this season.
Nimmo leads all National League outfielders in triples, OBP, SLG, OPS, wRC+, and smiles. While not confirmed, he also probably leads the league in inside-the-park home runs Somehow, he is only second in fWAR to Lorenzo Cain.
It’s more than the stats with Nimmo. He always gives you a tough at-bat, and he is quickly showing himself to be a guy you want up in a big spot. Not bad for a guy Sandy Alderson was so willing to part with for and bury behind Jay Bruce.
3. Peterson May Be a Find
At some point, Tim Peterson had to question what exactly he had to do not only to get a chance, but also to stick in the majors.
After pitching extremely well in his first call-up to the majors, Peterson would be demoted back to Triple-A after the team claimed Chris Beck, who had an ERA of almost 6.00 and a WHIP over 1.700.
Due to injuries and poor performances, Peterson got another chance in the majors, and once again, he took advantage of the opportunity pitching 3.1 scoreless innings in Coors Field of all places.
On the season, Peterson has now made five appearances for the Mets, and he has just allowed one earned on five hits and two walks in 7.2 inning pitches. Over that span, he has a 9:2 strikeout to walk ratio.
Considering how he has performed, it is possible the Mets accidentally found someone who can be a reliable reliever in what has been a volatile bullpen all season. Peterson looks like he will get a chance to prove himself as the Mets demoted Paul Sewald and Chris Flexen while keeping him up on the team.
3 DOWN
1. Only deGrom Can Pitch in Coors
There are many ways you can describe how great a season Jacob deGrom is having. Perhaps, one of the things that stands out is he made a start in Coors Field, and he lowered an ERA that was already under 2.00. That’s astounding.
What’s also astounding was just how poor the other Mets starters were in this series. To encapsulate just how poor the Mets starting pitching was in this four game set, Steven Matz allowed five runs over 5.2 innings pitched, and he had the second best Mets start in this series by a wide margin.
Overall, Matz, Seth Lugo, and Jason Vargas combined to allow 18 earned runs in 11.0 innings pitched. That’s equivalent to a 14.72 ERA. When you look at it that way, the numbers look better than how the other starters not named deGrom looked on the mound.
2. The Double Plays
Believe it or not, the Mets are just 10th in the league in GIDP. That is surprising considering what we saw during this series.
In the four game set, the Mets hit into an astounding nine double plays including five in the series finale.
Each one of the double plays the Mets hit into were crucial, but perhaps none more so than the one Kevin Plawecki hit into in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game. In that pinch hitting spot, Plawecki probably swung at ball four, and he grounded into an inning ending double play. Had he gotten a hit in the spot, the Mets likely take the lead.
Instead, he grounded into a double, and the Mets followed by hitting into five on Thursday.
3. Season Over?
After losing three out of four to the Rockies, the Mets are now 10 games under .500. In the entire history of baseball, there was only one team that has gone from 10 games under .500 to win the World Series – the 2003 Florida Marlins.
Those Marlins reached their nadir on May 22nd. Accordingly, no Major League team has been 10 games under .500 at this point in the season and gone on to win a World Series.
If you want to hold onto a glimmer of hope, consider the 1973 Mets were 13 games under .500 on August 17th. They would win the NL East with an 82-79 record before taking the NLCS from what would soon become known as the Big Red Machine and losing the World Series in seven games.
Of course to get to that point, the Braves, Nationals, and Phillies will have to come back towards the mets, an
