3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Stay Hot On Homestand

The New York Mets certainly enjoyed being back at Citi Field.

The Mets went 5-1 on their first homestand of the year. They finished the six-game run at Citi Field by taking two out of three from the Marlins.

There was a lot to like from the three-game set against the Marlins for the 8-4 Mets. We also saw one or two things that were hardly encouraging.

To that end, let’s dive right into another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down on what is an off-day for the Mets ahead of a six-game road trip…

3 UP

ENCOURAGING STUFF

Kodai Senga felt like he didn’t have his best stuff on the mound in the series opener on Monday, and yet, the starter gutted it out anyway, throwing five scoreless innings with two walks and four strikeouts. It was an important night for Senga, who is ramping up after missing most of the 2024 season. Granted, we didn’t see anything truly elite from Senga against the Marlins, but it was a good start nonetheless. The righty gave up five hits but didn’t allow a run, and he will now need to build on that outing and continue to move in the right direction.

BREAKING THE SKID

Francisco Lindor is starting to look like vintage Francisco Lindor. And that’s incredibly good news for the Mets. The shortstop started the year 0-for-11 with three strikeouts in Houston. Since then, however, he has started to turn things around. To be exact, Lindor has now recorded a hit in eight consecutive games. That includes a 3-for-4 night in the series opener against Miami, and two runs scored and two RBIs in the second game. He’s hitting .381/.423/.619/.1.042 over a seven-day span. The offense has yet to click, but Lindor finding his game is certainly the spark that lineup needs.

BULLPEN MASTERCLASS

Through the first 12 games, the Mets bullpen owns a stellar 1.70 ERA – the second-best mark in baseball. But, honestly, the relief pitching has been even better than the numbers suggest. For instance, relief pitchers have had to carry a hell of a workload so far in 2025. With starters not getting past five innings, the bullpen has had to pick up the slack and get a lot of outs on a daily basis. The good news is that the Mets’ relievers have been more than up to the task so far. They were money against Miami, allowing a total of one run over 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts across the first two games of the series.

Max Kranick, Ryne Stanek and Huascar Brazobán then combined for another four innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts in the series finale. Granted, Edwin Díaz struggled with his velocity and gave up three runs in the ninth. However, that wasn’t a save situation and the cold weather is impacting relievers across baseball. Anyway, the point still stands that the bullpen is carrying this team right now, and that was certainly the case against Miami.

3 DOWN

NIGHTMARE START

Brett Baty is having a rough time out there right now. The second baseman went a combined 1-for-6 with three strikeouts against Miami. He’s now 3-for-27 with 11 strikeouts, and is hitting just .111/.111/.148/.259 on the year. Furthermore, Baty committed a fatal error that allowed two runners to score in the series finale. It was a routine play gone wrong that ultimately cost the Mets the game. With Jeff McNeil nearing a return, Baty may be running out of time to prove that he has what it takes to contribute at the major league level.

RUNNING INTO TRAFFIC

Tylor Megill struggled through his latest start on Wednesday. He faced a lot of traffic, giving up six hits and three walks. However, he did only allow two runs while striking out seven. It is also worth remembering that the two runs attributed to Megill were because of that Baty error. In any case, Megill struggled with his command and velocity. His first eight pitches were all balls, and he walked two batters in that span too. He threw 90 pitches in just four innings, and some of the righty’s warts were on full display. Now, you could blame the cold and the wind if you wanted to. But, the point still stands that Megill couldn’t pitch deep into the game, putting yet more stress on an already overworked bullpen.

It is worth stressing the point that this is based purely on Megill’s outing on Wednesday, and nothing else. After all, Megill does rank second in the National League with a 0.63 ERA. He has been really, really good so far. But, with that said, he allowed some old habits to creep in during his latest start, and his inability to go deep into games will become a bigger problem the deeper into the season we get.

ICE COLD BATS

What was colder on Wednesday – the Mets’ offense or the temperature? Honestly, it was hard to tell. Because, as frigid as it was at Citi Field, the lineup was ice cold. New York was held hitless going into the sixth inning. After that, the Mets recorded just two singles on the way to being shut out for the first time this season. Furthermore, they scored three runs or fewer in four of the six games on the homestand. As a result, way too much pressure is being put on the bullpen to be perfect in order to get the job done.

We all know that this lineup has explosive potential. And it is still early, of course. But the fact that the offense is still stagnant 12 games in is somewhat concerning. Brett Baty needs to figure it out. Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos need to break out. Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri need to offer something offensively. And the return of Francisco Alvarez can’t come soon enough. After all, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso can’t be expected to carry all of the offensive load. This lineup needs to wake up and put it all together. And soon.