Players of the Week: Conforto Heats Up, Walker Twirls Gem

This past week was a frustrating one for the New York Mets. Coming off being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend, the Mets bounced back and swept the Washington Nationals at home.

The offense rallied to pick up Carlos Carrasco in the first game of the series for the 8-7 win. Brandon Nimmo then drove in four runs in Game 1 of the doubleheader, and Pete Alonso lifted a walk-off homer in Game 2.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last, as the Mets were then swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both Tylor Megill and Taijuan Walker held their own against the powerful Dodgers lineup, but the bullpen ultimately fell in extras.

Carrasco then struggled again, and both Brandon Drury and Kevin Pillar took the mound for the Mets in the Sunday Night Baseball laugher. Overall they went 3-3 on the week, and still find themselves sitting in third place in the NL East.

Hitter of the Week: Michael Conforto

Finally during the month of August, Mets fans have seen the Michael Conforto they know and love. Over his past 15 games, the sweet-swinging lefty is hitting .326 with a .420 OBP, .998 OPS, two homers, seven walks, ten runs, and five RBI.

Conforto stayed hot against the Nationals and Dodgers this past week. He doubled and drove in a pair in the series opener on Tuesday night. He then went 2-for-3 in both games of the doubleheader Thursday afternoon.

He went 1-for-2 off the bench on Friday, lifted his eighth homer of the season on Saturday, and picked up two more hits on Sunday night. Overall, Confront is hitting .409 over his past seven games with a 1.094 OPS, seven runs, a homer, and four RBI.

He’s now hitting .220 with a .341 OBP, .708 OPS, eight home runs, 14 doubles, and 29 RBI on the season. If Conforto can stay hot at the plate, it would be a massive boost to the struggling Mets offense.

Pitcher of the Week: Taijuan Walker

Walker took the ball for the Mets in the second game of the series against the Dodgers on Saturday night.

After struggling in his past few outings, Walker finally bounced back and had his first-half form. Walker held the Dodgers hitless through six innings before Will Smith took him deep to left to even things up at one.

After a double and a walk put two on with two outs, Walker was pulled for the night and left to a much-deserved standing ovation from Mets fans. Aaron Loup entered and struck out Cody Bellinger swinging to end the inning. 

Overall, Walker threw 6.2 innings of one-run ball and allowed just two hits, three walks, and struck out eight batters. The right-hander’s splitter was really working for him all night, generating a total of seven whiffs.

Walker now has a 3.75 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 110 strikeouts over 22 starts this season. He’s lined up to take the ball again in Thursday night’s series opener against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.