Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

After the New York Mets took two out of three from the Tampa Bay Rays in dramatic fashion, there was reason to be cautiously optimistic that the team was pulling out of its month-long funk. With the follow-up sweep of the Cleveland Guardians, the enthusiasm is getting stronger.

These were the shades of the 2022 Mets, a team that would never say die, that had often-elite starting pitching together with a lineup that could never be counted out. This was a more consistent showing of a team that flashed its promise against the Dodgers earlier in the season before falling off a cliff.

3 Up

Aces Up!

With the Mets facing a third consecutive Sunday doubleheader, they needed both dominance and length from their aces. Finally, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander both provided it. In Game 1, Scherzer twirled six shutout innings on just 86 pitches, with three hits allowed, one walk, and five strikeouts. Despite dealing with diminished velocity once more, Scherzer utilized his curveball masterfully to keep the Guardians off balance. The outing was particularly impressive considering that the 38-year-old was dealing with a split callus on his palm, which caused him considerable pain. He stated that the curveball was one of his pain-free pitches, which dovetailed well with its effectiveness in the game.

Scherzer has now allowed just one earned run over his last 11 innings pitched to lower his ERA to 4.01 and his WHIP to 1.19. Perhaps he has turned a corner after a rough beginning to the season.

Verlander, meanwhile, was looking to bounce back from a five-inning, six-run outing against Tampa that caused him to leave to boos at Citi Field. After surrendering a first-inning solo homer to José Ramirez, Verlander settled down to look like a defending Cy Young winner. He needed 98 pitches to get through eight innings, allowing just three hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

As he does when he’s in full form, Verlander saved his best for last, needing just six pitches to retire the side in the eighth inning. His last pitch, a 96 mph fastball, was his hardest of the night. Overall, he retired 20 of his final 21 batters. Verlander’s extended start saved the Mets from having to turn to lesser relievers with both Adam Ottavino and David Robertson unavailable for the nightcap.

Verlander has now pitched dominantly in two of his four starts, and a third was adequate. The Tampa effort looks more like a blip on the radar than something to be concerned about.

Lindor Tattoos Old Team

Francisco Lindor has not had the kind of start to the season that he might have hoped for, slashing just .235/.311/.428/.739. He then had to deal with sniping from his former teammate with Cleveland, Jason Kipnis, who insinuated that Lindor is not a real leader before retracting it. Though Lindor took the high road in response (causing his wife Katia to come to his defense), this first series against his former team was important to silence his doubters.

Going 3-for-6 in the opener was a good start, but it was the final hit, a walk-off RBI single, that sent Citi Field into a frenzy. Lindor saw a 99.2 mph cutter from Guardians star reliever Emmanuel Clase, which he deposited just past the dive of Andrés Giménez for the victory. It was a monkey off Lindor’s back, as the Mets faithful had grown frustrated with his low batting average and OPS.

Lindor had another two hits in the finale to finish the series 5-for-14. Both were key in the game: the first, a home run off Shane Bieber in the sixth inning, knotted up the game at one. The Mets had not been able to push a run across the plate to that point despite having a few opportunities with runners in scoring position. Lindor took an 0-2 knuckle curve down in the zone and blasted it 404 feet. Two innings later, his 79.7-mph grounder found its way into the outfield, setting up Jeff McNeil‘s go-ahead sacrifice fly.

Lindor was instrumental in the Mets’ series sweep and can’t be counted out despite his mixed results to begin the season.

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

That fighting spirit that the 2022 Mets seemed to possess in spades hasn’t shown up much in the early going. Against Tampa, New York started to show some of that life, and they continued it against the Guardians. The Mets once again trailed early in two of the three contests and needed a comeback to win all three.

The opener was the highlight, as the Mets trailed 5-0 and 7-3 before tying it up. Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty homered as part of the three runs, and Pete Alonso finished the first comeback with a grand slam in the seventh inning. In the 10th, Drew Smith gave up a go-ahead two-run homer to Gabriel Arias. But the Mets wouldn’t go away, as Mark Vientos hit an RBI single before Álvarez tied it up with one of his own on a two-strike pitch. An infield single from Brandon Nimmo set up Lindor’s game-winner.

In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Mets actually led 3-0. However, Ottavino and Robertson combined to give up four runs in the eighth, including the go-ahead two-run homer to Ramirez again. The Mets came roaring right back, as Baty walked to set up Marte’s two-run homer. It was the first extra-base hit for Marte in a month (100 at-bats) and capped a 3-for-4 day for the Mets’ struggling right fielder.

In the night game, the Mets trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Lindor tied it up. They went ahead for good on McNeil’s sac fly in the eighth. This kind of pitcher’s duel has often culminated in a loss for New York in the past, especially when Jacob deGrom was on the mound. With the Mets’ rotation still in flux, it is critical for them to back any effective start from their pitchers. Lindor and then McNeil did so.

Overall, it was an Amazin’ Mets type of series, one that continues to buoy hope as the weather heats up.

Bonus: Raley Shuts the Door

Brooks Raley has had his ups and downs this season, specifically in two poor games against the Brewers and Nationals. After a rough outing in late April, the Mets placed him on the injured list for maintenance purposes. Since his return from the IL, Raley has tossed four-plus scoreless innings, including one each in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep.

The Mets felt comfortable returning to Raley in the night game because he had thrown just nine pitches (seven strikes) in the day affair, setting down the Guardians in order in the seventh. Clinging to a 2-1 lead and seeking a series sweep, he entered for a save opportunity because Ottavino and Robertson had been so heavily used both earlier in the day and throughout the week.

After a terrific glove pickup and toss to first for the out on a leadoff bunt attempt by Steven Kwan, Raley hit Amed Rosario with a pitch. That brought up Ramirez, who had already hit two big homers against the Mets in the series, with a chance for another go-ahead bomb. However, Raley induced a groundball to shortstop for the game-ending double play and finished off the series sweep.

Raley earned his first save of 2023. It hasn’t always been easy for the left-hander this season, but nevertheless, he’s had some big moments for the Mets. This one was tremendous, giving the Mets a victory before an off day without forcing them to turn to the thinner part of their bullpen.

3 Down

Cookie Crumbles

Carlos Carrasco has endured a brutal start to the season. After getting hit around to the tune of an 8.56 ERA in three April starts, Carrasco landed on the IL with a bone spur in his elbow, the same injury that forced him to undergo surgery in 2021. A cortisone shot enabled him to ramp up activity and return on Friday night against his former team after a pair of rehab starts. However, things didn’t change much from his earlier showings, as he allowed five earned runs in five innings to put the Mets in a 5-0 hole.

Carrasco now sports an abysmal 8.68 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .260 BAA, 7.00 FIP, 1.93 HR/9, and an unsightly .538 SLG (seventh percentile among pitchers). His 12.8% strikeout rate is in the fourth percentile. Due to injuries and poor performances from some of their other starters, the team can’t afford to give up on Carrasco just yet. But with José Quintana starting to ramp up rehab activity, Joey Lucchesi still in the minors (albeit having pitched poorly in his major league stint), and Mike Vasil carving up Double-A, Carrasco’s spot in the rotation may not be secure if he continues to struggle to this extent.

Bullpen Bungles

Edwín Diaz’s absence continues to plague the Mets, forcing them to overuse Ottavino and Robertson and rely more heavily on Smith than is ideal (or wise). Raley had a good series, but the others all had their struggles.

Smith came in for the 10th inning in the opener and surrendered both the ghost runner and another run on Arias’ two-run homer. It was the first home run he gave up this year. He was bailed out by the Mets’ heroics in the bottom of the inning.

Ottavino also endured a rough week, surrendering multiple runs in two different outings. He worked a perfect eighth inning in the series opener, but it was in the middle game that he ran into trouble. He entered in the eighth with the Mets protecting a 3-0 lead and promptly gave up a pair of runs on a double, a pair of groundouts to score the run, another double, and an RBI single. The tying run was later charged to his record when the inherited runner scored. Ottavino has now given up seven earned runs in 8.2 innings in May, spanning nine outings.

Robertson, meanwhile, threw a perfect ninth in the first game but also struggled in the middle one. Entering to try to rescue Ottavino in the eighth, he surrendered the go-ahead homer to Ramirez. Robertson said after the game that he threw his best pitch, a knuckle curve, and Ramirez just beat him; however, it’s fair to wonder if overwork was a part of the equation, as he pitched on three straight days from Wednesday through Friday before the one-day layoff on Saturday. Entering once more was heavy lifting, although Robertson did settle down to finish off the eighth and set down the Guardians in the ninth for the win.

Dominic Leone was the other Mets reliever who struggled. After New York had gone down 5-0 in the opener, they clawed back to within 5-3. However, Leone entered for the sixth and promptly surrendered two more runs on four hits and a walk, pushing the deficit to four. The expectations for Leone are not anywhere near those of the other three in this section; however, his roster spot will last only so long if he struggles. The Mets have freely used the injured list to make room for the next man up in the bullpen, as well as designating pitchers for assignment in the early going.

A Few Baserunning Gaffes

With the relievers’ struggles grouped together, there isn’t too much else to be down on in the series. Alonso went just 2-for-13, but his grand slam was so momentous that it’s impossible to put him in the 3 Down section. Nimmo (3-for-14) could have also ranked, but his hits were also meaningful, particularly his infield single prior to Lindor’s walk-off and a 442-foot solo homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead in the finale.

The one other negative that stood out in the series was some bad baserunning. In the fourth inning of a scoreless middle game, Marte singled but was picked off. It’s not so much the fact that he got picked off that was bad as how it happened; he was adjusting his gloves at the time and appeared to have no idea that the throw was coming.

Later in that inning, Eduardo Escobar singled with runners on first and second to puts the Mets ahead. With the ball bobbled in the outfield, Gary Sánchez tried to score, only to be thrown out the plate by a fairly wide margin. Although this was on Joey Cora more than Sánchez himself, it was still not a great look for a player trying to make his case to stay with the team.

That being said, the Mets also a couple of nice baserunning plays in the middle game. Pete Alonso took advantage of Myles Straw‘s poor outfield arm, going first to third on a single by Baty and allowing Baty to take second on the throw. Alonso then took off on Sánchez’s shallow flyout, testing Straw and succeeding when the throw was off line. These were calculated risks, unlike the more reckless one by Sánchez and Cora earlier.

This is a bit of a weak option, but that’s what you often get in a three-game sweep.

The Mets begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday at Wrigley Field against the Cubs (7:40 p.m. ET start).