The New York Mets are red-hot right now.

Dating back to the Trade Deadline, the Mets are a scorching 9-3. During that run, this team has been incredibly fun to watch on a near-nightly basis.

That culminated in an entertaining sweep of the Nationals over the weekend. Great pitching, an even better bullpen, and some clutch hitting were the fuel behind the Mets’ second series sweep this month.

Sure, this recent hot streak doesn’t mean a whole lot for the rest of this season. However, thanks to what we’re witnessing from this team right now, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for 2027.

For now, though, let’s dive into another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

Francisco Lindor & Jefry Yan by Chris Simon

3 UP

LIGHTS OUT

Christian Scott sure pitched like a top-of-the-rotation starter in the series finale on Sunday. The righty was locked in and looked outstanding through the first six innings. Sure, he did run out of gas in the end. That’s probably to be expected given that Sunday marked the first time this year that Scott had pitched into the seventh inning. Still, the main thing was that he went deep into the game. In the end, Scott’s final line of three earned runs on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts probably doesn’t do justice to how dominant he was. Scott sure looks to be a lock for a big role in the rotation in 2027 and beyond.

ASCENDING STAR

Carson Benge is special. Period. The rookie is blossoming into a potential star in front of our very eyes. Benge had his fingerprints all over the Nationals series win. Offensively, he hit a home run and drew two walks on Saturday. That came hot on the heels of a clutch RBI single that acted as the go-ahead run in the series opener on Friday. Then, defensively, Benge made several stellar plays, including a stunning backhanded catch near the wall on Sunday. Overall, Benge is showing that he can impact winning in a slew of ways at a high level.

VETS PROVIDING THE POP

It was the veterans who really powered the offense over the weekend. Francisco Lindor finally looks like himself offensively. The shortstop went 4-for-10 with three walks, three runs scored, two RBIs, and a home run over the weekend. That included a game-tying home run in the sixth inning of Friday’s game. More importantly, Lindor delivered the walk-off knock on Saturday, sealing the series win. It wasn’t just Lindor that had a big series, though. Bo Bichette continued his resurgence with five hits and a walk, including a triple. Jared Young‘s RBI double proved to be the difference in the finale. Young also finished with four RBIs in the series. And Luis Torrens hit a home run and continues to provide a real offensive boost. That’s now four home runs in his last six games for Torrens, by the way. It is nice to see the veterans step up and really produce.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

3 DOWN

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

As fun as it is to watch the Mets right now, it is probably natural to feel a little frustrated too. I mean, where was this level of performance for the first four months or so of the season? Why is everything clicking now that the season is all but over and lost? What we’re witnessing right now is great, but it is also a little late in the day. Still, the hope is that the core can build off a strong finish and carry that into next year. But it would have been nice to have been able to root for this version of the Mets from the very get-go.

UNWELCOME REMINDER

On Saturday we got a glimpse of why Sean Manaea had been struggling so much before his recent turnaround. The veteran was great through the first five innings, but he fell apart in the sixth. Manaea gave up a three-run blast – his second homer allowed in the game – to completely turn the contest on its head. Thankfully, the offense fought back to win the game. However, Manaea’s rough outing was a step back in the wrong direction.

COSTLY ERROR

For all of Lindor’s offensive heroics over the weekend, his defense became the story for the wrong reasons on Friday. The shortstop misplayed a ball up the middle, allowing CJ Abrams to score and give the Nationals an early lead. It was Lindor’s ninth error of the year in just 68 games. For context, he allowed 13 errors over 158 games in 2025. The Mets will have to hope that Lindor is just having a down year defensively rather than showing natural regression in that area.