Just as the Mets closed June so too did they end July by winning at home in the month’s final game to snap a four-game losing streak. Despite winning Sunday and Neil Walker suddenly hot again, the Mets’ offense has been in a three-month slide.
The Mets end July ranking third in the NL in homers with 132, 11th in on-base percentage (.305), 13th in RBI (365), 14th in runs scored (375) and last in average (.238). Here are some of the month’s notables:
JULY MVP
James Loney has been a terrific replacement for Lucas Duda, whose return timetable remains uncertain. His defense has been magnificent, and he’s been a presence at the plate, hitting .282 with six homers, 21 RBI and a .337 on-base percentage. And in July, when both Yoenis Cespedes and Walker struggled, Loney hit .291 with three homers and 11 RBI.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Addison Reed has arguably been one of GM Sandy Alderson’s best acquisitions. He leads the NL with 26 holds, including 10 for July along with a 0.00 ERA for the month. He struck out 16 in 12 innings, and gave up only four hits. Overall, he has a 1.81 ERA and 0.45 WHIP.
KEY GAME OF THE MONTH
There have been several significant games, and but I’m leaning toward Friday’s 6-1 loss to the Rockies in which the Mets had two on with nobody out and reliever Scott Oberg entered to get three outs on three pitches. I could have gone with any of Jeurys Familia‘s two blown saves, or even Sunday, but I chose this one because of Collins’ post-game message.
“We have a good team,” Collins said. “We’re going through a rough time right now. We’re not dead. We’re still in the hunt. We need to lighten it up and have some fun. … We have to stop worrying about some of the bad things and concentrate on some of the good things.”
KEY MOVE OF THE MONTH
When Walker was in the midst of a horrid slump, Collins opted to sit him down for a couple of games. The turnaround wasn’t immediate, but he responded by going 12-for-22 so far on the home stand, including a three-run homer Sunday.
RED FLAGS ENDURED
We learned in July that both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz have been pitching with bone spurs in their elbows. Both have had rising pitch counts, but so far they haven’t missed any time, and that bodes well for the organization.
Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen are experimenting by cutting their between-starts sessions and pre-game warm-ups. So far, so good.
HEALTH ISSUES
Look for Cabrera to go on the disabled list and replaced by Matt Reynolds. He’ll join Reyes and Juan Lagares, who went on the DL last week. … Yoenis Cespedes has a strained right quad. Frankly, I’d put him on the DL now and see what two weeks of solid rest might do, rather than have him go at half-speed and risk losing him at the end of August or September. … Syndergaard and Matz are dealing with bone spurs and bear constant watching. … Matt Harvey is gone for the year and nobody knows exactly when Zack Wheeler will return but late August seems like a safe bet. … We see David Wright watching games from the bullpen. … The speculated return date for Duda keeps being pushed back, … Remember reliever Jim Henderson? Still no word when he’ll return.
BY THE NUMBERS
2: Blown saves by Familia after converting 52 straight.
3: Players put on the DL (Reyes, Lagares and Harvey).
13: Games during the month in which they scored three runs or less.
8: Victories by a starting pitcher for the month.
