3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Split Subway Fare

3 UP

Squirreling Away

Jeff McNeil picked up a couple of more hits in this series including an RBI double. With that McNeil has a 141 wRC+ and 3.8 WAR on the season.

That’s the best among NL second baseman. His 4.5 fWAR also leads NL second baseman.

This is partially because McNeil is having a great second half. He’s accumulated a 1.9 fWAR so far which ties him for third best in the league.

Givens Scoreless

Since joining the Mets at the trade deadline, Mychal Givens had struggled mightily. Lately, it seems he’s turned a corner.

Givens pitched a scoreless inning in the first game of this series. He now has three consecutive scoreless appearances for the Mets, and he’s had a scoreless appearance in six of his last seven appearances.

It’s an important step forward for him. It’s crucial for a Mets team still figuring out how to handle the late innings.

Time for a Breather

In this brief Subway Series, you could see the Mets were a bit fatigued and slower than usual. That’s to be expected for a team who played 13 games in 12 days in four different ballparks.

Looking at the month of August, the Mets have played 24 games over 23 days. That includes two series against the Braves and Phillies.

This August schedule has been brutal, but the Mets are 15-9 so far. Now, they get a much needed and well earned off day before facing the Colorado Rockies.

3 DOWN

Runners Not in Scoring Position

In this series, the Mets were a woeful 2-for-14 stranding 13 runners. That, and another indefensibly bad send by Joey Cora, is a big reason why the Mets only scored four runs in this series.

Overall, the Mets are still seventh in the league with a 119 wRC+ with runners in scoring position, so this does appear to be more of a blip than a real problem.

That said, this is a Mets lineup more designed to get runners on and get them in. Aside from Pete Alonso and maybe Francisco Lindor, this lineup doesn’t have that true power threat. As a result, they can’t afford these hiccups.

Scherzer Ordinary

The last time the Mets faced the Yankees Max Scherzer dominated the Yankees and was easily dispatching the presumptive AL MVP Aaron Judge.

It was a different story this time around with Scherzer allowing four earned over 6 2/3 while allowing a homer to Judge.

This is the second straight start Scherzer gave up four earned. The last time it was to the Braves.

That’s two straight starts against postseason teams Scherzer struggled (for him). For now, there’s nothing to make of that other than he’s human.

Alonso’s Defense

To say it was a Luis Castillo play would be entirely unfair and would be ignorant to the relative degrees of difficulty. However, it was a play we’ve come to expect Pete Alonso to make.

It’s more indicative of the big step back Alonso has taken defensively. After a career best 1 OAA, Alonso is back to a -6 OAA, which ties his career worst mark.

More than anything, it’s costing Alonso a chance of winning the MVP. He’s leading the league in RBI and is fourth in homers, but he’s an also ran in the MVP race.

While the OPS+ and wRC+ are top 10, his WAR is not reflective of that production. In fact, his bWAR is tied for 26th in the NL, and his fWAR is 23rd.

Alonso has had a great year at the plate with a number of key hits. However, his defense has at times hurt the team, and mostly, it’s hurting him as he’s not going to be a true MVP candidate come voting time.