3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Evade Sweep Against Cardinals

Things could have gone better to start the homestand for the New York Mets.

After finishing the road trip strong, the Mets dropped the first two games to St. Louis at Citi Field. Granted, the bats did wake up to avoid a series sweep.

However, all in all, the three-game series against the Cardinals was another reminder that the Mets have a lot of work to do just to get to .500.

On that gloomy note, let’s recap everything from the last three games in the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

When his team needed him, Juan Soto really stepped up on Thursday. Facing a series sweep, Soto had a big day at the plate to ensure that particular scenario was avoided. The superstar hitter went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in the finale. Soto’s solo shot came in the seventh inning and proved to be the deciding run. Granted, Soto went 1-for-6 in the previous two games, but his ability to come through in big moments meant that the Mets at least salvaged something from the series.

CLOSING IT OUT

One positive to emerge from this series was the performance of the bullpen. Granted, the bullpen game on Wednesday didn’t go to plan. But, outside of that, there were some money outings. Cionel Pérez tossed scoreless outings in back-to-back days. Then, on Thursday, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams combined to throw 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in Thursday’s win. Minter, Weaver, Raley and Williams have all been stellar as of late and are doing what has been asked of them.

IMPORTANT ROLE PLAYER

Jared Young has emerged as quite the contributor for this team. The veteran has stepped up and made the first base job his own. Furthermore, Young has gotten off to a hot start in June. He homered in the series finale against the Cardinals – his third homer this month. He also made it a tied game in the fifth with an RBI single. All in all, since returning from the IL, Young has provided a much-needed and unexpected offensive spark.

3 DOWN

TIME TO PANIC?

This is not the Freddy Peralta the Mets thought they were getting. The veteran has been solid so far in Queens, but nothing more than that. However, he has struggled as of late, culminating in another rough outing on Tuesday. Peralta allowed six runs on six hits over six innings of work. He has now allowed at least four runs in three of his last four starts. Yikes, that isn’t good. What the Mets decide to do with Peralta remains to be seen. But, if he continues pitching like this, then his trade value will be at an all-time low by the time the trade deadline arrives.

DOWNWARDS TRAJECTORY

The David Peterson problem continues to worsen for the Mets. Serving as the bulk reliever for Wednesday’s game, Peterson got beat up. He allowed six earned runs on seven hits, including a pair of home runs, over 3 2/3 innings. As a result, Peterson has now allowed 12 runs in his last 12 2/3 innings. He owns a 5.75 ERA and appears to be trending in the wrong direction yet again. Peterson has now allowed at least six runs in four of his last 14 appearances, something he had never done more than three times previously in his career. And, with his command continuing to be an issue, it remains to be seen where the Mets go with Peterson from here.

SAME OLD STORY

At this point, we are where we are with the Mets offense. It was non-competitive for the first two games of the series, recording just two runs and eight hits. You can’t win games with an offense that ice cold. Sure, the bats did wake up somewhat in the series finale, but the damage was already done by that point. Over the first two games, we saw more of the same: no pulse, no adjustments, and a real lack of clutch hitting. Unless this offense can find some consistency, and that is hard to believe right now, then this team will continue to go nowhere.