Players of the Week: Trevor May Dominates, Michael Conforto Delivers

Despite going 2-3 last week, the Mets find themselves with an 11-12 record, and just 0.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the National League East.

The offense was once again nowhere to be found to begin the week, as the Mets put up just one run over a two game set, and as a result were swept by the Boston Red Sox at home.

The struggles continued on Friday night in Philly, losing the series opener by a score of 2-1. Finally Saturday and Sunday the offense showed up with the help of new “hitting and approach guru” Donnie Stevenson, and the Mets took the series from the Phils.

Sweet swinging lefty Michael Conforto played a huge role in the Mets’ success at the plate this weekend. The bullpen also pitched well for the most part, and one of the strongest performers was right-hander Trevor May.

Let’s take a look at these two stand out performers this week for the Mets:

Hitter of the Week: Michael Conforto

After a frustratingly slow start to the season, Conforto has been mashing the ball over the past fews days. Wether it was the visit from good old Donnie Stevenson or what, Conforto looks absolutely dialed-in at the plate.

Heading into Monday night’s game, Conforto was hitting .346 with a 1.106 OPS over his past seven games. He also ripped a pair of homers over that span, one of which was a go-ahead solo shot in the top of the ninth in the Mets’ 5-4 win over the Phillies on Saturday night.

Following his 2-for-4 effort on Saturday, Conforto told reporters, “I think that’s the most consistently that I have squared the ball up. I don’t know if we’re all the way there yet, but we’re going to continue to grind and work until I’m feeling like the hitter I should be.”

The Mets offense as a group looked outstanding closing out the Phillies series, picking up a total of 17 hits in the 8-7 win on Sunday Night Baseball. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come, not just for Conforto, but for this group as a whole.

Conforto’s Stats for the Week: .346/.414/.692, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1.106 OPS

Pitcher of the Week: Trevor May

Aside from a few bumps in the road, the Mets bullpen as a group has been absolutely outstanding to begin the 2021 season. Prior to Sunday night’s drama, the pen had thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings.

One of the pitchers in particular who has very quietly shined has been righty Trevor May. Very fitting that we open the month of May with none other than Trevor May as the Pitcher of the Week.

Since his struggles on Opening Day, May has been lights-out in relief for this Mets bullpen. Over nine innings of work since this outing, May has tossed nine shutout innings and struck out 13 batters.

This week, May pitched in both games of the Boston series and the two Mets wins in Philadelphia. He picked up his second win of the season and allowed just one hit over four shutout innings of work while striking out six.

With his recent string of success, May has now pitched to a 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 0.75 FIP, and has struck out 14 batters in 9.1 innings pitched on the season.

The Mets bullpen continued that success in Monday night’s loss to the Cardinals, as Robert Gsellman, Sean Reid-Foley, and Jacob Barnes combined for 5.1 scoreless innings in relief of Joey Lucchesi to keep the Mets in the ballgame.

Again, the Mets bullpen has been massive thus far for this team, and they’ll be adding the dominant right arm of Seth Lugo soon enough.

May’s Stats for the Week: 1-0, 4.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 K