Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets’ lack of depth showed this series, pushing across just eight runs in three games (two in the final two games) against the Marlins, as the team dropped two of three to the Fish. The Mets finished their nine-game road trip 3-6, placing six more players on the injured list during that time.

Yet, here we are at the end of the series talking about how the Mets are still in first place with a 21-19 record — 1.5 games better than the Braves and Phillies. New York will play four games this week at home against the Rockies, who have won two games on the road all season, followed by three more with the Braves. Jacob deGrom will return Tuesday, and J.D. Davis may be right behind him if a stiff neck doesn’t push his rehab back too long.

3 Up

Johneshwy Fargas

It’s been a bit of a struggle to get excited watching a lineup full of backups and Triple-A fill-ins over the last week, but Johneswhy Fargas has been so much fun to watch.

Over his first six games, Fargas is 6-for-20 with hits in all but one contest. He’s also knocked in three runs (two of them on the near-inside-the-park-home-run in extras on Friday). And, oh, he’s done stuff like this:

Fargas has been head-and-shoulders above all the other outfield call-ups, and he’s made an argument to stick around as a fifth outfielder once the team’s health returns.

Robert Gsellman

The Mets bullpen has been great this year, especially the guys who’ve ate some innings and appeared in long relief. Robert Gsellman is one of those folks, with a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings. Since April 24 (an appearance following a one-inning, four-run outing), Gsellman has thrown 15.2 innings and allowed three runs. That’s a 1.72 ERA.

He’s not really striking batters out and he’s pitching more to contact — as one would argue a sinker pitcher should do. His batted-ball results have been amazing, too, sitting in the top two percent of the league in average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage. That was evident Sunday with a handful of weak grounders and fly outs.

On Sunday’s TV broadcast, Ron Darling noted Gsellman said he changed his arm angle back to one he used when he had success in the past. It’s allowed Gsellman to land his sinker further down in the zone — again, what you want when you’re a sinker-ball pitcher (he throws it over 55 percent of the time).

Below are the locations of his sinker in 2021 (left) and 2020 (right).

He’s gotten weaker contact with the sinker further down in the zone, too, with a average exit velocity sitting at 81 mph, down from over 87-88 mph in previous seasons. He also has one of the lowest hard-hit percentages on sinkers at 23.3 percent — eighth in baseball among pitchers with at least 25 plate appearances ending in the pitch, according to Statcast.

With the Mets’ rotation in flux, they’ve needed consistency from their long-relief men. They’ve gotten it in Gsellman so far.

Bullpen Management

As I wrote above, the Mets are in first place. That’s in large part because of their bullpen holding it down while the rest of the team gets injured. And while the rest of the team is injured, the bullpen has been managed well enough where no one person or persons are being overly taxed.

The Mets have seven bullpen guys who have between 11 and 18 appearances. Six of those seven guys have an ERA under 3.50. They have nine guys who’ve pitched between 11.2 and 19.2 innings (including Joey Lucchesi, who has gotten an occasional start). Everyone’s roles are pretty defined, too, with guys like Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, and Miguel Castro not being asked to take on more than an inning at a time, and Gsellman and Sean Reid-Foley given time between their long-relief appearances.

The bullpen has a top-10 ERA in the league, and they’ve been able to remain fresh, especially when the Mets have had between just two and four healthy starters, thanks to proper management from Luis Rojas and company.

3 Down

Cameron Maybin Batting Third

The Mets were desperate for outfield solutions once their fourth of five Opening Day outfielders went on the injured list in Atlanta. Cameron Maybin was the first guy outside of the organization the Mets gave a shot, and it hasn’t worked out.

Maybin is now 0-for-16 in four games, reaching base once cleanly with a walk. (He reached base in Atlanta on a passed ball after striking out.) He’s struck out in over half of his plate appearances. He’s done most of this batting third and fifth in the order.

The team only acquired the 34-year-old for a dollar, so it’s really a zero-risk transaction, but you have to think there are other options available to take at-bats in the heart of the Mets’ order while the team waits to get healthy.

Jordan Yamamoto’s Start

Jordan Yamamoto struggled in his first big-league start of the year. He particularly struggled with his fastball location and putting hitters away. Twenty of his 73 pitches came with two strikes, but he was only able to put away batters with strikeouts on two of those 20. He gave up a pair of two-strike RBI during the game, too.

Yamamoto didn’t get help on defense, but ultimately it was his command that led to long counts and base runners. Take a look at the sporadic nature of his pitch chart below.

As the broadcast pointed out, a lot of Yamamoto’s misses came on the complete other side of where James McCann was setting up.

He left Sunday’s game after the fourth inning due to shoulder soreness, the Mets say.

Winning on the Road

After this 3-6 road trip, the Mets are now 10-15 on the road through the team’s first 40 games. (So, yes, they’ve only played 15 home games in the first quarter of the season.) The results just aren’t coming on the road. Their on-base percentage is 40 points lower on the road than it is at home, and the team ERA is more than double (1.83 at home vs. 4.25 on the road) when they’re traveling.

Their 11-4 record at home has helped balance things out, but if the Mets want to win the division this year, they’re going to have to straighten things out when they are away from Citi Field — especially with another nine-game road trip starting next Monday.