The Mets kicked off the month of July with a bit of an up and down week. They struggled opening up the week in Atlanta and Washington, dropping one with the Nats and two out of three to the Braves.

With a much-needed boost from Brandon Nimmo returning atop the lineup, the Mets offense finally showed up for the Subway Series in the Bronx.

After a rain-out on Friday night, the Mets came out flying on Saturday. Behind another strong Taijuan Walker outing and a five run sixth inning, the Mets opened up the series with a strong 8-3 win over the Yanks.

Another late rally and Yankee bullpen implosion helped the Mets take Game 1 on Sunday afternoon. Both Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith stayed hot, launching homers in the 10-5 comeback win.

Alonso homered again in the nightcap, but the Mets failed to complete the sweep and fell by the score of 4-2. It was certainly still satisfying to see the Mets offense put together some strong performances during the week.

It was especially nice to see Dom Smith, our Hitter of the Week for the week, show some signs of life in the power department. Right-hander Taijuan Walker also continued his dominance with another strong performance on the mound.

Hitter of the Week: Dominic Smith

After breaking out during the pandemic shortened season, the 2021 campaign has been a bit of a struggle for Dom Smith. Entering this week, Dom was hitting just .240 and was struggling to the tune of a .356 OPS.

He opened the week strong with a pair of hits and a run scored on a Big Pete homer in the 8-4 loss to the Washington Nationals. Dom sparked the seventh inning rally in the 4-3 win over the Braves, lining a leadoff single, and scoring on a James McCann homer two batters later.

After a day off, Dom closed out his series in Atlanta with a two homers game in the heart-breaking walk-off loss. He stayed hot, opening up the Subway Series with a three hit, three RBI performance in the offensive breakout in the Bronx on Friday afternoon.

Smith homered again, his third of the week, in Game 1 of the doubleheader. He closed out his strong week by doubling and scoring another run in the Game 2 loss on Sunday night.

Overall on the week, Smith hit .416 (10-for-24) with three homers, a double, and six RBI. He is now slashing .327/.365/.571 with three homers, nine runs, and 11 RBI over his past fifteen games.

He opened up this week picking up a single and scoring from first in a three run seventh inning rally, and driving in the Mets’ first run of the game with a sacrifice fly in Monday’s 4-2 win over the Brewers at Citi Field.

This recent hot stretch has helped Smith raise his batting average on the season to .259, and he is now up to a .731 OPS, 106 OPS+, 11 doubles, and nine homers. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling at home against the Brewers and Pirates the rest of the week.

Smith’s Stats for the Week: .417 AVG (10-for-24), 3 HR, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 1.315 OPS

Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Pitcher of the Week: Taijuan Walker

Taijuan Walker not making the All-Star team this year makes absolutely no sense. The right-hander has been absolutely brilliant all year long for the Mets.

Walker has without a doubt been one of, if not, the biggest steals of this offseason. He continued his strong season opening up the Subway Series on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.

Walker cruised through five no-hit innings before he was finally burned by as Gary Cohen put it, a Yankee Stadium special. After Walker struck out DJ Lemahieu, Aaron Judge poked a solo shot just into the short porch in right field.

Walker bounced back to retire Gary Sanchez, but his afternoon was done after he allowed a two out single to Giancarlo Stanton. Miguel Castro entered and struggled as he hit a batter, issued a walk, and allowed a two-run single, with one of the runs charged to Walker.

On the afternoon, he allowed two runs on two hits while walking two and striking out five over 5.2 innings of work. The Mets were able to hold on for the 8-3 win, and Walker recorded his seventh win of the season.

The 28-year old is now 7-3 with a 1.01 WHIP, 87 strikeouts, and his 2.44 ERA ranks twelfth in all of baseball. Walker will likely end up making the NL All-Star roster as a replacement, but the fact that he didn’t make it outright is mind-blowing.

He has been one of the best pitchers, not just on the Mets but in all of baseball, thus far this season. Walker will look to keep the good times rolling in his next scheduled start, most likely this weekend against the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates.

Walker’s Stats for the Week: 1 GS, 1 W, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 5K, 5.2 IP