The New York Mets played strong baseball in Philadelphia over the weekend and they will plenty of opportunities to play spoiler.
After a 16-run performance by the New York Mets against the Baltimore Orioles last Wednesday, fans were wondering whether or not the offense was here to stay. Well, for five games in Philadelphia, it was. During a series in which they won three of the five games, they scored a total of 42 runs.
True, 24 of those runs were scored in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Thursday. With that being said, they are 9-5 in their last 14 games and they have scored 103 runs this month. The weekend in Philadelphia and Williamsport was impressive for New York and they will have plenty of chances to do more of that down the stretch.
Out of their final 36 games, the Mets will play 18 of them against playoff contenders and yes, this does not include the now 62-63 Washington Nationals. New York has one more series against the Phillies and Braves each as well as matchups with the Cubs, Dodgers, and Red Sox (all on the road).
Fortunately, for the New York Mets, they have played some of their better ball on the road this year. In games played away from Citi Field, the Mets have scored 324 runs, which is the fifth most in all of baseball and only four fewer than the National League leaders (Dodgers, 328). Plus, their on-base percentage of .335 is the best in all of baseball, which is crazy to think about when you consider how bad this team has looked on offense at times.
One of the better players on the team on the road is Amed Rosario. While that is a dangerous sample size to go off of, he’s a .210 hitter at Citi Field compared to hitting .280 on the road. He has had one of his better months in August at the plate as he is hitting .286 with two home runs and 13 RBIs (most in any month this year).
Rosario has been a different hitter out of the leadoff spot and that is a good sign for him going forward. Over the seven games, he is hitting .364 at the plate with two doubles, a home run, and eight RBIs. The combination of Rosario and a consistent contact hitter like Jeff McNeil (10-for-29 in his last seven games) could do wonders for the offense.
In the Bronx, we have seen how the New York Yankees losing to the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays can potentially cost them an AL East title and could put them in a one-game playoff. In Queens, the Mets are 8-5 against the Phillies this year and that is the most wins they have against any team this year.
While New York’s offense does not scare opponents, the fact of the matter is that having three strong arms in the rotation like Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard will keep the Mets in any game against the top contenders in a wide-open National League this year.
So, while the Mets aren’t competing for anything over the final weeks of the regular season, they can try to play spoiler and wreck other teams’ playoff plans.