3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Rule The Citi

3 UP

Mets Own MVP Race

Pete Alonso gets all the hype, and after a series like this, you understand why. Alonso was 4-for-6 with a double, homer, and two RBI. He’s on an absolute tear right now with a 1.300 OPS over the past two weeks.

What’s really interesting about that is Alonso is he’s not the best position player on the team according to Baseball Reference’s WAR calculation. Per bWAR, that is Starling Marte, and we saw another reason why that’s the case. In addition to an impressive play in right field, he had a walk-off base hit. Since 2014, his 11 walk-off hits are the most in the majors.

Whoever you want to pick, the Mets are lucky to have players like this, and this is why they are in first place.

Happy Birthday

Arguably, there is no better pitcher in baseball right now than Max Scherzer. After all, who else can face the best team in baseball and shut them out over seven innings? Oh, and strike out Aaron Judge three times in the game with runners in scoring position.

Since returning from the IL, he is 1-1 with a 1.39 ERA striking out 45 and only walking four over 32 1/3 innings. That’s about 6 2/3 innings per start.

Of note, the series finale was Scherzer’s birthday. In his career, Scherzer has more strikeouts on his birthday than any other pitcher, and he has a 0.82 ERA on his birthday starts. That’s great, but then again, this is Scherzer. He is always great.

Yankee Daddy

There is just something about the New York Yankees that brings out the best in Francisco Lindor. Last year, he had the three home run game at Citi Field. Over these two games, Lindor was 3-for-7 with a double, walk, and an RBI. Lindor is now a career .322/.395/.575 hitter against the Yankees in 43 games.

This is also around the time Lindor turned it on last year. When Lindor is hitting and fielding the way he does, this Mets team is on a different level. If that is the case, this Mets team is primed to hold onto their division lead and make a deep run in October.

3 DOWN

Get Another LOOGY

All the Mets had to do was find six outs, and with Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter due up, you can understand Buck Showalter going with David Peterson.

After all, Joely Rodriguez has a 5.93 ERA. Also, the Mets have to find out heading into the trade deadline whether Peterson can handle the role.

Well, after a Rizzo walk and Gleyber Torres homer, the answer appears to be no. That goes double when he allowed a run in his previous appearance out of the bullpen.

This isn’t a knock on Peterson. Some starters do not transition well to the bullpen. He appears to be one of those pitchers. That’s fine because long-term the Mets need him to start.

Short-term, the Mets have no one who can get big left-handed batters out.

Finding Nimmo’s Offense

Brandon Nimmo is starting to limp into his free agency walk year. After a very good first half where he was the second best outfielder in the National League by fWAR, he has come out of the gate struggling.

Since the break, Nimmo is hitting just .136 with no walks or extra-base hits. This is a cold spell that runs deeper than just the break. Since June 1, he’s slugging just .390 with a startling .311 OBP.

A large part of that has been this newfound aggressive Nimmo at the plate. He’s walking just 6.6% of the time. That’s not Nimmo. When he’s at his best, he’s working counts and driving his pitch.

Who knows if this is Nimmo feeling the pressure of a pennant race or impending free agency? Maybe this is a newfound approach from working with Eric Chavez. Whatever the case, he needs to scrap whatever it is he’s doing and get back to being Nimmo.

McNeil Not Hitting Either

Give Jeff McNeil credit. As we saw, he’s not taking his lack of hitting onto the field. Also, he still managed to get a key insurance run in the first game of the series.

That said, he’s hitting .159 out of the All-Star Break. Since injuring his leg, McNeil is hitting .159/.237/.188 since injuring his leg on June 20. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but maybe it is a sign he’s still dealing with the injury, and he has not healed.

Whatever the reason, McNeil is too important to this offense, and his struggles have coincided with the Mets’ offense taking a dip. Ultimately, the Mets and McNeil need to figure out what they need to do to get him back on his game at the plate.