Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports.

3 UP

Cleveland in July

Last year, Mets fans were wondering if they’d ever see the Francisco Lindor the team got from Cleveland. They saw it when Lindor had a huge July with a .989 OPS.

Well, it’s July again, and Lindor is hot again. In this series, he was 7-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, three walks, and three RBI.

He had a .933 OPS this July. He’s not the only player from this trade with a big month.

Carlos Carrasco had 7 2/3 scoreless against the Marlins picking up the win. That closes out a big July where he was 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA.

As noted by MMO‘s Mathew Brownstein, Carrasco is one of five Mets pitchers to have a month with an ERA under 1.00. That was done most recently by Jacob deGrom last April.

Right at Home

The Mets obtained Daniel Vogelbach to help improve their offense, specifically against right-handed pitching. Well, it’s working.

Since joining the Mets, Vogelbach is hitting .375/.545/.500 with two doubles. He’s walked five times.

In games Vogelbach has started, the Mets offense is averaging six runs per game. It’s a small sample size, but the Mets are 6-0 in games Vogelbach has had a plate appearance.

McNeil Is Back

All-Star Jeff McNeil had not homered since June 15. He was hitting .159/.237/.188 since June 28.

Well, that cold snap appears well behind him. In this series, McNeil was 6-for-14 with two doubles, a homer, and two RBI.

This is not totally unusual for McNeil. Typically, July is one of his worst months. The injury appears behind him, so it appears he’s poised for a big finish as the Mets look to hold onto their division lead.

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

3 DOWN

Walker Streak Snapped

Taijuan Walker had a streak of nine straight starts of pitching at least six innings. It was the longest such streak of his career. Unfortunately, that streak was snapped 1/3 inning short.

Walker was understandably upset saying, “I didn’t like it.” He went on to compliment his team and further say, “I really wanted to go out and finish the sixth inning … it was all right.”

Walker was disappointed, but he’s been great all year. It appears he’s fired up. We shouldn’t be surprised if he starts another streak of dominance.

Braves in Striking Distance

The Mets have won six straight games sweeping the Yankees and Braves in the process. In that time, the Mets lead only grew by 1.5 games.

The Braves have been just insane 39-14 (.736) stretch over the past two months. They not only got back into the division race, but they also have put themselves in control of their own destiny with 12 games remaining against the Mets.

Mets fans of old get very nervous when the Mets and Braves are this close in the standings late in the year. Hopefully, this team will get to change the story of this fierce rivalry.

Stagnant Trade Deadline

According to reports, the Washington Nationals are holding up the trade deadline with the Juan Soto trade discussions. Unfortunately, it appears the Mets aren’t involved in that.

However, it does appear it’s holding up potential Mets deals. Right now, the Mets are waiting around to see if they can pull the trigger for a Willson Contreras or J.D. Martinez.

We’re also not seeing relievers getting moved yet. That leaves the Mets waiting to add the big arm (or two) they need down there.

The clock is ticking as is the Mets opportunity to build the team they need to win their first World Series since 1986.