Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

After a mid-week sweep against the Orioles made it seven wins in a row for the New York Mets, I wrote that the weekend series in Tampa against the Rays would provide a pretty good barometer for where the team stands at this point in the season.

What resulted was a three-game sweep in which they blew a late lead Friday, wasting a gem from David Peterson, and two non-competitive losses on Saturday and Sunday. Because of injuries, Sunday’s lineup featured just four everyday players.

No, the team isn’t as bad as it played over the weekend, but manager Luis Rojas and the Mets’ other decision-makers certainly have their work cut out for them as they try to navigate a rash of injuries and a basically vacant fifth spot in the rotation.

Weekly Record: 2-3

2021 Record: 18-16 (1st place, NL East)

162 Game Pace: 86-76

What Went Right: Defense

Entering the year, the ability to field consistently was the No. 1 issue facing the team. Not only have the Mets largely overperformed in that area, but are currently seventh in the MLB in Defensive Runs Saved.

Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil have been stellar up the middle, while Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto have both fielded way above their projections. It also helps that Jonathan Villar has gotten most of the playing time at third, subbing for the injured J.D. Davis. Villar may not be a Gold Glove fielder, but he’s much more polished and comfortable at the hot corner than Davis.

What Went Wrong: A Bump in Competition

Sweeping the Diamondbacks and Orioles is nice, and if you’re a team with playoff aspirations, necessary, but not being able to take even one game in Tampa is pretty alarming. To beat a team run as well as the Rays – one that was in the World Series a season ago – the Mets needed to be on their game from Rojas down to the last man in the bullpen.

After taking a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning in the series opener on Friday, the Mets let the game slip away, eventually getting walked off on with two outs in the ninth inning. That set the tone as Saturday’s bullpen game blew up in the fourth and sixth innings, allowing 11 combined runs in those two frames. Marcus Stroman had his worst start of the year in the season finale, giving up five earned runs and three homers in six innings of work. That’s bound to happen, but it was just poor timing for a slip up. Either way, the injury-riddled Mets managed just one run – on a Patrick Mazeika solo home run – Sunday. That’s not good enough to win regardless of how well your pitcher does.

Stock Up: Taijuan Walker

Looking back to when the Mets were flying high in the middle of the week, Walker was stellar against the Orioles. The big righty went seven innings and allowed just one run to bring his season ERA down to 2.20. He’ll have an opportunity to make a statement Monday in Atlanta as the Mets look to get back on track.

Stock Down: Joey Lucchesi

This is Lucchesi’s second time on this list, and time is quickly running out for the lefty to carve out a role with the team. Starting him outright didn’t work, and after using an opener last weekend garnered encouraging results, Saturday’s game was a nightmare for Lucchesi as he entered in the third inning with a four-run lead and gave up four runs in 1.2 innings of work.

Rojas has said that Lucchesi will be part of the Mets’ plans moving forward, but the team has considered starting Thomas Szapucki or Jordan Yamamoto as it tries to piece things together until the return of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Carlos Carrasco.

Injury Report

This week garners the unenviable title of worst injury report of the season for the Mets.

It’s still not certain will deGrom will be able to make his next start — he’s only thrown five innings over the last two weeks as he deals with lat and back soreness.

Brandon Nimmo suffered a setback in his rehab assignment and is with the team as he tries to recover from a hand injury. Davis is dealing with his own hand problems and will head to Triple-A Syracuse for a rehab stint.

Conforto and McNeil were both pulled from Sunday’s game with hamstring injuries and await MRI results. At the moment, Tim Healey of Newsday is reporting they’ll both hit the injured list, with Khalil Lee and Johneshwy Fargas taking their place.

Add in reserves Luis Guillorme and Albert Almora Jr., who are both on the IL, as well as pitchers Syndergaard, Carrasco and Seth Lugo, who have yet to make an appearance this season, and the Mets have a serious problem on their hands.

Next Up

Thanks to the continued subpar play of the division, the Mets start the week clinging to a 0.5-game lead in the NL East. They’ll need to figure things out quickly, though, as a three-game series in Atlanta precedes and off-day and then a stretch of 17-straight games.