Poor starting pitching, bullpen meltdowns and failing to hit with runners in scoring position have all played a role during this ugly stretch of nine losses in 10 games for the Mets. The bottom of the batting order hasn’t been helping either.
“It’s the reality,” manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after Tyrone Taylor, Jared Young and Luis Torrens went 0-for-10 with three strikeouts Monday in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Braves.
Jared Young (29) Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
“The bottom of the lineup, we’re having a hard time creating opportunities,” Mendoza said. “We’re relying pretty much on the top four or five guys and then if those guys in the bottom are not able to get on base that’s why we’re having a hard time scoring runs right now.”
Brett Baty, hitting ninth, went 2-for-3 Monday, but he’s 3-for-18 with five strikeouts since June 13, when the Mets (46-33) began this run of poor play. He has a lot of company.
Taylor is 5-for-30 with eight strikeouts. Young is 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts. Torrens is 3-for-19 without an extra-base hit. Ronny Mauricio is 4-for-26 with 10 strikeouts. Before he was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse, Francisco Alvarez was 3-for-18 with five strikeouts.
In innings after a starter throws a lot of pitches, Mendoza said he thinks some hitters may be taking pitches they would normally swing at in an effort to give the pitcher extra rest in the dugout. (That observation was about the whole lineup, not just the bottom. For what it’s worth, in the bottom of the third inning on Monday, after the Braves scored twice in the top half, Young took the first three pitches he saw – two for strikes – and ended up striking out.)
“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things, especially when you’re chasing a lot and it feels like during this stretch we’re getting down early in games and then the at-bats are pretty much completely different,” Mendoza said.
Juan Soto has been performing great. Francisco Lindor has turned it around. Brandon Nimmo has also been hot. But it’s hard for three or four guys on offense to win you games every night. The Mets’ turnaround will happen when the bottom of the lineup starts to perform.
