Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The 2022 Mets were a great team. Despite their first-round demise in the playoffs, a 101-win team cannot be undersold. However, one of their relative weaknesses during the season was an inability to come back and win once down.
Despite their reputation as comeback maestros, though, the Mets actually had only 30 comeback victories in 2022, per Baseball Reference, which ranked 22nd in baseball. Although it would seem that a good team would require fewer comebacks due to dominating, that idea is somewhat debunked by the fact that the 111-win Dodgers had 48 comeback victories, which led all of baseball. In fact, the only 2022 playoff team that had fewer comeback wins than the Mets was the Rays with 26.
Part of the reason for this was Buck Showalter‘s tendency to punt middle innings when the Mets went down early. If his starter exited the game early after allowing a few runs, he’d bring in a no-name middle reliever or three to preserve his real bullpen depth. This usually pushed the Mets further behind, negating a chance at a comeback. Showalter would also do this when his key bullpen arms were tired, using relievers who were likely to be optioned down to the minors or designated for assignment shortly thereafter.
The opener of the Mets-Dodgers series appeared to be heading that way after David Peterson allowed his fourth homer of the game, a towering solo shot to Max Muncy that put the Dodgers ahead 6-5 in the sixth inning. Jimmy Yacabonis began warming up in the bullpen as Showalter hoped to preserve the arms of his key middle relievers.
But these Mets wouldn’t go down without a fight. After snatching back the lead three other times in the game, they battled back once more, scoring three in the seventh inning to make it a game again. Just like in Sunday’s game against the A’s, the Mets forced Showalter away from punting.
If the Mets can keep this up, they’re as dangerous as any team in baseball.
Peterson did an admirable job making it through six innings despite his struggles, the first time since April 8 that a Mets starter made it through the sixth and only the fourth time in 17 games this season. This allowed Showalter to go to Brooks Raley, and he, Drew Smith, and Adam Ottavino combined to finish out the last three innings for the win. That bridge to the closer is not something either the 2022 team or this one could take for granted.
Still, the ability to keep on playing despite losing multiple leads, to keep hitting and come back yet again, is a level of resilience the 2022 team did not quite have. Sure, they had isolated great comebacks, including a seven-run shocker in Philadelphia, a barrage against San Francisco (that they eventually lost), and another two-time comeback against the Phillies later in the season. But once they were down in the middle innings, that was often it.
In the young season, the Mets are tied for the eighth-most comeback wins with five (the Guardians lead with seven, and six teams are tied with six comeback victories). The only facet of their team game that has really gotten off the ground is their defense, and yet they’re finding ways to win.
Again, there’s a huge caveat here: we are only one-tenth of the way into the season. Things can and will change. That seven-run ninth-inning comeback against Philadelphia last season happened in early May.
But it’s surely an encouraging sign to see the Mets hang with the Dodgers this way, even as L.A. scuffles in the early going. The constant comeback ability makes a game never over, and that would be some fun baseball to watch.
