Considering all the ups and downs the New York Mets have experienced over the course of the season, it’s this team’s starting pitching (3.92 staff ERA this season is fourth in National League) that’s been the one driving constant. After the All-Star break, they pushed things into hyperdrive.
Since the start of the second half, Mets starters have pitched to a 3.09 ERA, 3.33 FIP, and have racked up 8.5 wins above replacement as a staff (FanGraphs). Each of those metrics is best in the NL.
Their 9.05 strikeouts per nine innings rank sixth over that span, their 2.41 walks per nine rank second, and their 1.19 WHIP is good for fourth in the league.
If not for a porous bullpen (well, not everyone; thank goodness for Seth Lugo, Justin Wilson, and Luis Avilan), there’s no telling where these scuffling — but still very much alive — Metsies would be.
Since the calendar’s turned to September, the Mets’ rotation has stepped their collective game up even further. At a time when the team needs it the most, this staff has delivered.
Over each of their last two starts, Zack Wheeler has a 1.50 ERA (10 strikeouts, four walks, 12 innings), Steven Matz has a 1.54 ERA (11 K, 6 BB, 11.2 IP), Noah Syndergaard owns a 3.00 ERA (15 K, BB, 12 IP), and Jacob deGrom has a 3.21 ERA (17 K, 4 BB, 14 IP).
Even Marcus Stroman, who’s struggled a bit since coming to Queens in late-July (5.05 ERA heading into Thursday’s series finale versus the D-Backs), appears to be snapping back into form.
After tossing 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball in Thursday’s win over Arizona, the 28-year-old Long Island product has a 3.31 ERA in September with 18 strikeouts and six walks.
After dropping two-of-three to the Phillies to kickoff a make-or-break ten-game homestand, dropping five games behind the Cubs for the second NL Wild Card, the Mets rebounded to sweep a four-game series from Arizona, leapfrogging them and Philadelphia, to head into their weekend series with Los Angeles just two games out.
With the Dodgers sending Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Walker Buehler — in that order — to square off with Syndergaard, deGrom, and Wheeler, respectively, this staff — and the team as a whole — has the opportunity to make a strong statement to the baseball world; we’re still alive and we’re a force to be reckoned with.
Throw in the Mets’ offense, whose 104 wRC+ ranks second in the NL this season, and the pieces are all here for a deep run. And, hey, with a well-rested bullpen thanks to two consecutive blowouts of the D-Backs, Lugo, Wilson, and Avilan should all be ready, willing, and able to get the job done if called upon.
Let’s go.
