3 UP

1.  Straight Flexen

After two difficult three inning starts, Chris Flexen finally settled in and earned his first career Major League win.  In his 5.2 innings, Flexen showed significant strides.  He was more confident on the mound with a willingness to pound the ball inside.  More than that, Flexen looked like a pitcher who was capable of pitching at this level.  With this start, the Mets have an excuse to keep him in the rotation and continue to learn from major league coaches.

In addition to the good outing, Flexen also picked up his first major league hit.

2. Home Run Droughts Snapped

In Tuesday’s game, both Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud homered in the same game at Citi Field.  It has been quite a while since either has homered at home, and it is the first time both players have homered in the same game since September 14, 2015.  Part of the reason for that is both players have had difficulty staying on the field.  Another part is both players have not hit for the same power they once did.

The homer was Cespedes first at home since June 23rd, and it was just his third homer since the All Star Break.  For d’Arnaud, it was his first homer at home this season, and it was his first home run after the All Star Break.

The good news is both players have been hitting better of late.  As a result, it is possible we will not seen another dry spell that lasts nearly this long.

3.  Harvey Closer

On Tuesday, Matt Harvey threw 25 pitches from the mound at Citi Field.  All reports indicate he felt good, and he will soon be ready to begin his rehab assignment.  If true, we may very well be able to see Harvey pitch in the majors one time before the season ends.

That’s important because Harvey is one of the biggest wild cards heading into the 2018 season.  He’s only had one full season in the majors since his call-up in 2012.  He was rushed to being this season despite the Mets fully knowing he was not going to be full strength until mid-May.  With him being rushed, we saw Harvey struggle as the year progressed with his fastball dropping out of the 90s.  Soon thereafter, it was discovered the muscles in his shoulder were half the size of his non-pitching shoulder.

Hopefully, now, Harvey is fully healthy, and he is actually ready to pitch.  If so, it is entirely possible, we can see a Harvey next year that could once again dominate.  Right now, we don’t know, but at least we are closer to finding out if he can.

3 DOWN

1. A Citi That Never Sweeps

This series marked the Mets 19th home series of the season.  So far, the Mets have been unable to sweep an opponent at home in a series of any length this season.  That includes this two game set against the Rangers.  A large part of that is the Mets having an MLB worst 10-23 record in day games.

2. Montero Is Terrible Again

There was a stretch not long ago where Rafael Montero was pitching better, and he was beginning to justify the Mets decision to keep him on the 40 man roster all these years.  Those days seem more and more like a mirage.

In his last three starts, Montero is 0-1 with an 8.77 ERA and a 2.026 WHIP.  The most startling thing when Montero is he’s back to walking the ballpark.  Over this three game stretch, he’s been walking 6.1 batters per nine.  This isn’t much of an outlier with Montero having a career 5.0 BB/9.

Overall, just when you don’t think things can get any worse with Montero, he finds a new low.  This time it was him balking in a run in the first inning against the Rangers.

3. Rivera Hasn’t Been Good

Last year, Rene Rivera was dubbed a pitching whisperer, and he got the bulk of the catching duties at the tail end of last season.  He entered this year as Noah Syndergaard‘s personal catcher.  More than anything, he was seen as a strong defensive catcher who was a capable back-up to Travis d’Arnaud.  If anything, he promised to be a veteran who could once again take away playing time from d’Arnaud should be falter.

Unfortunately, Rivera has not been the same catcher this season.  He’s already yielded a combination of passed balls and wild pitches than he did last season, and that is with fewer innings caught.  His dWAR has dropped from a 0.7 last year to 0.2 so far this year.  More than that, we have not seen him have the same effect with the pitching staff.  Whereas he was seen as being partially responsible for the pitching staff’s success last year, the pitchers to whom he has been entrusted, Montero and Robert Gsellman, have struggled under his purported tutelage.

When you combine that with Rivera’s 80 OPS+ and 79 wRC+, it is hard justifying him playing even in a part time role.  It just might be time for the Mets to give another look at Kevin Plawecki, who is having a resurgent year in Las Vegas.