The New York Mets appear to feeling the effects of playing 10 games in 10 days across four cities. Two games in two nights against the Seattle Mariners could not have gone any worse. Zero runs, 11 total hits and most importantly, two-straight losses. For the first time since April of 2023, the Mets have been shutout in back to back games. A unique road trip like this one is proving to be quite grueling.
Francisco Lindor opened the game with a leadoff single off of Mariners starter Logan Gilbert. Exactly what the Mets were hoping for. The thought of grabbing an early lead quick evaporated, as Seattle’s middle infield made a great play to get J.D. Martinez to ground into a 4-6-3 double play two batters later. That was all Gilbert needed to really settle in, causing all kinds of problems for the Mets.
The right-handed starter did not make many mistakes on the night. But in the few instances where he did, the Mets did not make him pay for it. Brandon Nimmo drew a walk with one out in the fourth. Martinez and Pete Alonso followed that up with a strikeout and a groundout. Lindor singled with two outs in the sixth but nothing came of it. Their best chance to score off of Gilbert came in the seventh. It began with a leadoff single from Martinez. That would be all, as Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Mark Vientos went down in order.
Gilbert’s final line was seven innings pitched, no runs, three hits, one walk, six strikeouts and 92 pitches. He was efficient and he was able to keep the Mets off-balanced with his off-speed pitches. The Mariners have an unbelievable starting rotation. To their credit, it has been the backbone of their team for a handful of years now. That being said, this offense should be able to compete at a higher level. Especially when you consider how much of a handful they were about a month or so ago.
The Mets averaged 5.60 runs per game in the month of June and July, helping them climb back into the playoff hunt. In ninth games during the month of August, they are down to 3.77 runs per game. If that was their average over a full season, it would rank 28th in all of baseball. The rotation has been slightly better recently. But, that will only matter ever so slightly if the offense remains inconsistent.
Nimmo, the Met who has probably struggled the most since returning from the All-Star, is fully aware of that. “I expect more of myself and I’m working at it everyday. It’s just not good enough. I’m one of the leaders on this team. I’m supposed to come through, I’m supposed to do better, and I’m not,” he said. Over his last 20 games, Nimmo is slashing .158/.286/.197/.483 with no home runs and three runs batted in. He isn’t the only one struggling, although his slump has been going on for a longer amount of time.
