Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

A week ago, I called the Mets’ loss in their last game before the All-Star break – a game they lead 5-0 after the first inning – the worst loss of the season.

And for six whole days, it was.

Saturday, in classic Met fashion – and against the same Pirate team – they topped that, losing 9-7 on Jacob Stallings’ walk-off grand slam. The Mets led that game 6-0 in the eighth inning. Until that point in 2021, teams up at least six runs in the eighth inning had been 314-0.

To their credit, they bounced back Sunday to salvage one game of the series after falling behind 6-0 in the first inning of Taijuan Walker’s worst start as a Met.

Seven-straight games against the Pirates sandwiched around the All-Star break were supposed to give the Mets breathing room in the division. Instead, Pittsburgh took four of the seven, and two in heart-wrenching fashion. If not for Michael Conforto’s heroic two-run homer in the ninth inning Sunday, the Mets would be in legitimate trouble.

Oh, and by the way, Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor both landed on the IL over the weekend. So, they still might be.

Weekly Record: 1-2

2021 Record: 48-42

162 Game Pace: 86-76

What Went Right: Pete Alonso Assaulting Baseballs

Perhaps lost in the disappointment from the weekend was the show the Polar Bear put on in the Home Run Derby last Monday.

Alonso cruised to his second-straight crown, setting the record for most homers in a round with a ridiculous 35 prodigious blasts. He clearly loves the event, and was certainly made for it.

Also shout out 64-year-old bench coach Dave Jauss, who was absolutely lights-out as Alonso’s pitcher.

What Went Wrong: Beating the Freaking Pirates

Seriously, how did the Mets keep losing to those guys? Fine, the bats weren’t there on Friday, but losing Saturday was flat-out embarrassing and Sunday would’ve been the most LOLMets meme of all time if they lost because their starting pitching flung a fair ball 35 feet away from the field and stood there as three runs scored.

Credit to Luis Rojas for his animated argument – despite being wrong – and injecting a little fire into the team.

Stock Up: Travis Blankenhorn

Called up because of the injury to Lindor, the June waiver claim mashed over the weekend. After his pinch-hit RBI double on Saturday, Blankenhorn’s mammoth first-pitch, three-run, pinch-hit homer completely changed the complexity of Sunday’s come-from-behind win.

Stock Down: Edwin Diaz

After a brutal 2019 in Queens, Diaz looked to have firmly turned things around both in 2020 and the first half of this year. He’s been shaky lately, though, blowing two games against Pittsburgh, including giving up the grand slam on Saturday.

If the Mets are going to survive their most recent injuries and truly make a run, Diaz simply has to be good Diaz down the stretch.

Injury Report

Once again, deGrom lands on the IL, this time with forearm tightness. When he’s been on the mound this year, deGrom has been unquestionably the best in the game, the problem is those starts have at times been few and far between. While the injury isn’t considered serious, there’s no timetable for his return and he won’t throw until he feels no more pain.

Meanwhile, Lindor had been one of the lone Mets that had avoided injury this season, but now is considered week-to-week with an oblique strain. Defensively, the Mets don’t lose anything with Luis Guillorme manning the position, and Jonathan Villar looked like he could still be effective in the field, but at the plate and in the clubhouse, this is a loss the team just cannot afford right now.

On a positive note, Carlos Carrasco made a rehab start for Brooklyn last week and seems to truly be on the precipice of his Met debut.

Next Up

The two teams the Mets play this week – the Reds and Blue Jays – oddly enough enter Monday with the same number of wins as the Mets (48). There’s not a much better barometer in that regard to see where exactly the team is at this point.

The problem of course, is in the rotation, where the Mets have three healthy pitchers – including a rookie that’s made five career starts. Jerad Eickhoff is starting Monday, and there are reports that Robert Stock could go Tuesday. The Mets will desperately need to continue to put up runs, and the bullpen needs to return to form if they want to hold off the surging Phillies for another week.