It’s rather likely that not many MLB clubs envied the New York Mets’ road series against the Washington Nationals. After all, stepping into the box against Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin to start the year isn’t a pleasant thought.
When looking at New York’s overall offensive statistics from 2019’s first three games, they settled in right where you’d expect. Their 93 team wRC+ is just about middle of the pack while mustering just one homer, which came off Robinson Cano‘s bat in the first inning of Opening Day. For an organization that has relied heavily on the long ball in recent years, that sounds like a recipe for a disastrous start to the season.
However, New York accompanied those numbers with a .291/.350/.391 triple slash, 18 runs scored, and a 2-1 record (with a shot at securing a sweep in the late innings on Sunday). Not bad at all. Although it’s not necessarily a secret as to where most of the Mets’ offense came from during their first of many clashes with the Nats, it’s interesting to see exactly how top heavy the production was among players with at least 10 plate appearances.
| Player | PA | wOBA | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Alonso | 14 | .551 | 217 |
| Jeff McNeil | 10 | .524 | 202 |
| Wilson Ramos | 10 | .455 | 164 |
| Robinson Cano | 14 | .331 | 97 |
| Amed Rosario | 13 | .255 | 56 |
| Michael Conforto | 14 | .250 | 53 |
| J.D. Davis | 10 | .211 | 32 |
| Brandon Nimmo | 14 | .173 | 11 |
Isn’t it fun to be reminded how extreme early-season statistics can be? One great performance can make just about every number on a player’s stat page stand out. While this should all be taken with a grain of salt because of how small the sample size is, looking at the Mets’ offensive player statistics helps us see that McNeil and Alonso are picking up where they left off in 2018.
Based on the caliber of starting pitching New York just faced, the above stats (mostly the larger, bottom portion) isn’t at all surprising. As we saw unfold over the previous few days, it’s not the overall numbers that tell the story, but more so the route in which the Mets took to get themselves there.
Two Noticeable Trends
In each of these three ballgames, New York scored first. Accomplishing this really only benefitted them on Opening Day since they never relinquished the lead following Cano’s first-inning dinger, but it’s always a huge mental boost (even if they give up runs in the half inning that immediately follows). When you face pitchers like Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin, getting on the board first builds some much-needed confidence early on.
The Mets also dominated the late innings. When looking at how many runs each team scored in the eighth and ninth innings over these three games, New York outscored Washington 11-5. Things didn’t work out on Sunday despite a late comeback, but that was an encouraging rally, especially since guys who had been struggling — like Cano, Conforto, and Rosario — strung some hits together and not give in.
There will be ups and downs throughout the regular season, but with the moves general manager Brodie Van Wagenen made to bolster the offense, let’s hope the valleys in offensive production will be significantly shortened and the peaks are maximized as much as possible.
Something to Keep Up vs. NL East Foes
Between the Mets, Nationals, Atlanta Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies, the NL East will probably be a battle all the way until the end of September (sorry, Marlins). The things New York accomplished in this first series — getting out to early leads, jumping on the opposing team’s bullpen, and finding ways to score without hitting home runs — need to continue as they keep facing divisional opponents (and, well, everyone else).
This is a recipe for success against a team with top-tier starting pitching, like Washington. You can’t count on knocking around any of their top three hurlers on any given night, but it’s vital to make a dent early and then attempt to tread water until they’re out of the game. A division deep with playoff-caliber rosters also makes the matchups against teams that are perceived to be inferior even more important.
Good teams can hang with other good teams, but great teams also capitalize against the bottom feeders. New York is in South Beach to face the Marlins in a park that probably won’t be too crowded, making it easier to have a letdown immediately following what they just did in D.C.
Cano and friends need to keep the positive vibes going by not breaking focus and taking care of business before heading to Citi Field for Thursday’s home opener.
