The Mets started last week strong, winning two of three against the Padres. They then faltered against the lowly Nationals, losing two of three to their NL East foes. The Mets played sloppy ball, which contributed to the losses in the Nationals series. The Mets’ record is now 80-76, the same record as the Reds, and they are technically tied for the final Wild Card spot. The Reds, however, have the upper hand for the final spot due to a tiebreaker advantage.

Offensive Player of the Week: Francisco Lindor

Lindor had a strong performance last week at the plate. Lindor slashed .391/.500/.696 with an OPS of 1.196. He hit two home runs with three RBIs and scored nine runs last week. With a hit in Sunday’s game, Lindor extended his hit streak to 10 games. Lindor also continued his aggressiveness on the base paths by stealing third in the bottom of the ninth in Saturday’s game. This looked like a prime opportunity to give the Mets a walk-off win, unfortunately, they couldn’t bring him home.

Pitcher of the Week: Jonah Tong

After a disastrous start against the Rangers on September 12, when he gave up six earned runs in only ⅔ of an inning, Jonah Tong bounced back last week. Tong started the game on Thursday, in which he went five innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out eight batters, didn’t give up a walk, and only allowed four hits. Great to see such a strong recovery from a 22-year-old rookie.

Honorable Mention: Pete Alonso

Pete remained hot last week. Pete slashed .476/.538/.952 with an OPS of 1.491. Most impressive in Pete’s performance was that he hit home runs in four straight games from September 14-18. Pete drove in five RBIs while scoring six runs. Pete must remain hot to anchor the middle of this lineup as the season draws to an end.

Up Next

This is it. We are in the final week of the regular season. The Mets are trying to squeeze into the playoffs. These are must-win games. They first travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs. This will be a tough series as the Cubs are 88-68 for the season. They then travel to Miami to take on the Marlins in the last series of the year. The Marlins are in third place in the NL East and have surprisingly made a run for the final Wild Card spot as well recently. The postseason may be contingent upon this series.