3 UP

1.  Stay Golden, Juan Lagares

In this series, there was no better Mets player than Juan Lagares.  He beat up on Gio Gonzalez going 2-3 with a walk.  With the score tied at 4-4, Lagares came up against Ryan Madson, and he delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning.  In total, Lagares was 4-7 with a two runs, a double, two walks, and two RBI.

Believe it or not, Lagares is hitting .407 in 12 games this season, and he has already drawn three walks.

With Lagares’ glove, the Mets don’t need him to do much at the plate to justify playing him everyday.  Speaking of his glove, he is as good as ever showing off his incredible range and already nailing a runner at the plate this year.

Among center fielders with at least 60 innings played, he is third in the majors with a 3 DRS, and he is tops in the majors with a 91.4 UZR/150.  What makes that UZR/150 numbers all the more astounding is the next closest is Bradley Zimmer with a 53.1 UZR/150.

Right now, Lagares is having an incredible season, and he’s pushing for more and more playing time.  If this continues, it’s going to be hard for Mickey Callaway not to give it to him.

2.  Good Starting Pitching

Lost in what quickly turned to a depressing series against the Nationals was the Mets getting some good solid pitching in this series.

Jacob deGrom was brilliant, and he became the first Mets pitcher this year to pitch into the eighth inning.  When he left the mound on Tuesday night with one out in the inning, the score was 6-1 because he struck out 12 Nationals while limiting them to six hits and one walk.  There may have been a number of fingers to point in that loss, but none of them were pointing at deGrom.

Zack Wheeler followed deGrom’s start with a good start.  Even though he took the loss, he battled and gave the Mets every chance to win that game.  His final line was 6.0 innings, seven hits, three runs, three earned, three walks, and two strikeouts.  With this start, he joined deGrom as the only Mets starter to have two quality starts on the season.  What’s really impressive there is Wheeler has only made two starts this season.

With respect to Steven Matz, his outing did get off to a rough start, but he got things back on track retiring his last 11 Nationals before he was surprisingly lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth inning.

3.  Beyond the Sewald

One of the forgotten men in the Mets bullpen as been Paul Sewald, who has made just four appearances this season.  However, two of those four appearances have proven to be quite important.

Twice in the past week, Sewald came on and helped saved an already taxed Mets bullpen by making two separate three inning relief appearances.  The second of the two helped keep the Mets in the game to allow the team to take back the eighth inning from the Nationals.

On the season, Sewald has a 2.16 ERA, 0.600 WHIP, and a 13.3 K/9 in 8.1 innings pitched this season.  With him performing this well, he is showing the Mets he should be considered for more high leverage innings and not just as a long man coming out of the pen.

3 DOWN

1.  The Fateful Eighth Inning

Coming into this series, the Mets had an opportunity to potentially bury the under .500 2018 Washington Nationals.  Leading the Nationals 6-1 with deGrom cruising, it seemed like the Mets were poised to deal a near death blow, at least as the NL East was concerned, to a reeling Nationals team.

What ensued was a complete and utter meltdown by a Mets bullpen who allowed two inherited runners to score while allowing four of their own runs to score.  They allowed three walks, two of which were with the bases loaded, hit a batter, and allowed three base hits.

Since that inning, we have seen a different Nationals team.  In essence, we have seen the same Nationals team who has been 52-20 at Citi Field since the start of their run in 2012.  That number includes the 2015 season when the Nationals were 3-7 at Citi Field.

In that eighth inning, the Mets awoke a sleeping Nationals team, and they became much more competitive in this series.  It will be interesting to see if that carries forward for them as the Nationals continue their tough road trip.

2.  They’re Not Saying Bruuuuce Right Now

Jay Bruce has been dealing with plantar fasciitis all season long, and it led to him sitting out two games this week.  It does not seem to have helped him much.

Going back to his last at-bat in Friday’s victory over the Brewers, Bruce is now hitless in his last 13 at-bats with five strikeouts.

As bad as he’s been at the plate, he’s been worse in the field.  He’s been unable to get to balls, and now, he’s taking risks he need not take in the field.  For example, he dove for a ball he had no business diving for a ball which led to a Ryan Zimmerman triple and a Nationals insurance run.

At this point, it is clear Bruce is both injured and hampered by the injury.  It really serves no purpose to have him play a compromised right field with taking 0-fers at the plate.  With the other Mets outfielders healthy and productive, this should be a good time to give him time to get healthy and get himself right.

3. Reyes Can’t Hit

In a crucial spot on Tuesday, Callaway entrusted Jose Reyes by pinch hitting him in a big spot in the game.  Instead of rewarding his manager’s faith in him by pinching hitting over the likes of Conforto, Gonzalez, and Nimmo, Reyes struck out in an ugly at-bat.

Really, they have all been ugly at-bats for the 0-18 Reyes.  He’s also been bad in the field posting a -1 DRS with an error this season. Really, it makes you question why he is on this team.