The Mets bounced back in the second half of last week. They started last week 1-3 then finished with back-to-back wins against the Mariners. Overall, the Mets went 3-3 for the week, placing them third in the Wild Card rankings, a game and a half above the Reds.

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Offensive Player of the Week: Pete Alonso

Another strong week for the Polar Bear. He slashed .346/.393/.654 with an OPS of 1.047. He hit two home runs and drove in seven RBIs. Last week was particularly special for Pete, as he broke the Mets’ home run franchise record on August 12. This record was on Pete’s goals list to accomplish this season. Darryl Strawberry, the former holder of the record for 37 years, congratulated Pete saying, “You have worked hard, you have stood up in the pressure of New York City, and you have played well. It is well deserved.”

Pitcher of the Week: Nolan McLean

Bringing up some young talent could jolt some life back into the Mets’ pitchers. Nolan McLean made his MLB debut on August 16 against the Mariners. He went 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight while only allowing two hits. He was in command of his pitches, using a plethora of off-speed pitches to confuse the Mariners’ batters. According to Baseball Savant, he threw his sweeper 36% of the time and his curveball 21%. The only blemish to his start was that he walked four batters.

Honorable Mention: Francisco Lindor

Lindor is smoking hot! Lindor slashed .560/.607/1.040 with an OPS of 1.647. He hit three home runs while driving in seven runners. He collected 14 hits in 25 at-bats. He had a multi-home run game on August 15, where he collected four of his RBIs. Lindor is making great contact, resulting in six extra-base hits just last week. Lindor also made history this week as he became the first shortstop in MLB history to record five 20-home run and 20 stolen base seasons.

(We still gave it to Pete after Francisco Lindor won the official NL Player of the Week award, franchise home run record and all.)

Up Next

The Mets have an away stand where they can make up some ground in their playoff position. First, they travel to Washington, D.C. to play the Nationals. The Nationals are dead last in the NL East with a 50-74 record. Following that series, the Mets travel to Atlanta to take on the second-to-last-place team in the NL East, the Braves. The Mets lost the series last week to the Braves. They can not do the same again this week.