3 UP

1. Nimmo Is Back

Brandon Nimmo landed on the injured list with a bulging disc in his neck. It would cost him 89 games, and in that time people would forget just how good of a players he is. People forgot he was the second best hitter in the National League last year and that is the single Mets player best capable of getting on base. He had been referred to as a fourth outfielder.

Well, Nimmo came off the injured list, and he has reminded everyone just how good he is. He is 2-for-5 at the plate with a double and three RBI while drawing five walks and hitting a sacrifice fly.

This is what Nimmo was all last season. He gets on base, and he is one of the best hitters in the league. He is one of the best players on the team. The only thing which surpasses his ability is his enthusiasm. The Mets are lucky he’s back.

2. Build Alonso a Monument

Not since the days of George Washington has a non-White House resident so throughly controlled Washington D.C. like Pete Alonso has this year. In Alonso’s 19 games against the Nationals, he has hit .282/.342/.648 with 20 doubles, seven homers, and 15 RBI. That includes him going 5-f0r-15 in this series with two homers and three RBI.

The Mets needed someone to come up big in this series as the Mets continue to fight and claw just to stay in this Wild Card race. Alonso did just that as did many of the other players on this Mets team. With the way Alonso hit in this series, the Mets are still alive, and ancedotally, he remains on pace to tie Aaron Judge‘s rookie home run record.

3. Resiliency

The Mets loss on Tuesday was about as bad as it gets. Those are losses which are supposed to crush teams. Not these Mets, not even with Zack Wheeler not having his best stuff and the team falling behind 1-0 early.

No, the Mets battled back and built a 7-1 lead. After Jeurys Familia struggled giving back three runs in the sixth, the Mets came back and scored an insurance run. Ultimately, the Mets fought back and won this game; a game other teams simply do not win.

This is the latest example of how Mickey Callaway continues to have this team fighting. When you see wins like this, you see a team who is not going to go down without a fight. As a fan, you cannot ask for more from the players on the field. Certainly, this has been a team worthy of loving.

3 DOWN

1. Epic Bullpen Meltdown

The Mets entered Tuesday’s game against the Nationals 806-0 in franchise history when they lead by six after nine innings. In their history, the Nationals never overcame a six run deficit in their history. That’s franchise history which began in 1969. The Mets leading 10-4 in the ninth was about as guaranteed as you can get. The 99.7 percent win probability is fairly good evidence of that.

Mickey Callaway had made the right move using Paul Sewald, who has been very good since his most recent call-up to save Seth Lugo for another day. He made the right call using Luis Avilan, a pitcher who had allowed just two hits to left-handed batters all season. With the extreme right/left splits of Ryan Zimmerman and Kurt Suzuki, he was right to bring in Edwin Diaz, especially with Diaz having purportedly figured out his slider striking out six of the last eight batters he faced.

So what went wrong? Basically, everything. It was an ugly situation where the Mets could only get one out. No one performed well. At the core was the Mets have built a terrible bullpen where the Mets have just two or three dependable relievers.

Really, it’s at the point where Sewald is arguably the Mets second best right-handed reliever, so when he doesn’t perform everything falls apart. Everything about that fact and that game is completely inexcusable.

2. Nothing Is Familia Anymore

In his last two appearances, Jeurys Familia has allowed five runs over 1.2 innings pitched while allowing three hits and walking four. This was just the latest in what has been a nightmare of a season for Familia that has left everyone, including his manager, scratching their heads.

With the latest blowups, Familia is now 4-2 with a 6.43 ERA, 1.857 WHIP, 7.5 BB/9, and a 1.34 K/BB. The nicest way to put it is he’s been outright terrible.

The only thing worse than Familia’s season is the fact there aren’t really any better options. Brad Brach has 6.04 ERA and a sore shoulder. As noted above, Sewald and Diaz just blew up. Past that is a group which includes Stephen Nogosek, Chris Mazza, Walker Lockett, and a bunch of relievers who you cannot guarantee would pitch better than Familia.

This has led the Mets to have to over rely on Seth Lugo and Justin Wilson, two relievers with elbow issues. The hope is both of these pitchers can both make it to the finish line while also being fully up to speed next year.

3. Lowrie’s Rehab Stint

The Mets need all hands on deck right now to help them pull out every possible game. Much like most of the season this was supposed to include Jed Lowrie. Yet again, Lowrie is not part of the equation. At his request, the Mets kept his rehab assignment going.

When you look deeper into his rehab assignment, you see a player nowhere near ready. In fact, look at his day-to-day log since being sent to Syracuse:

August 28 – 2B (5 innings)
August 29 – 2B (5 innings)
August 30 – Off
August 31 – 2B (7 innings)
September 1 – DH
September 2 – 2B (5 innings)
September 3 – DH
September 4 – Off

Lowrie has gone from ramping up his play on the field to having to slow it back down. He needs to DH and take days off. At this point, you could say it would take a miracle for Lowrie to contribute anything to the Mets this season. With him not having set foot on the field, we should begin to wonder if this was one of the worst free agent signings in team history.