The Mets have had a more eventful September than many of us have expected. But after enduring two separate three-game losing streaks, it seems like manager Buck Showalter’s club is back to being the squad we saw through the regular season’s first five months.
After completing a 4-3 homestand against the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, New York hit the road for a five-game road trip, with the first stop being in Milwaukee. The Mets took the first two matchups before failing to get their second consecutive sweep in the finale.
Let’s get into the details of what went down at American Family Field the past few days.
So, what happened?
Game 1
- Mets 7, Brewers 2
- Winning pitcher: Max Scherzer
- Losing pitcher: Corbin Burnes
- Home runs hit: Pete Alonso, Rowdy Tellez
Game 2
- Mets 7, Brewers 5
- WP: Joely Rodriguez
- LP: Taylor Rogers
- SV: Edwin Diaz
- Home runs hit: Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor
Game 3
- Brewers 6, Mets 0
- WP: Trevor Gott
- LP: Taijuan Walker
- Home runs hit: Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau
Mets players who thrived
On offense, it was mostly the Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor show. They drove in 11 of the 14 runs New York scored in this series.
Lindor gained 0.4 fWAR thanks to a 280 wRC+ and a .417/.462/.917 line. Alonso hit just .167, but two three-run homers made it possible for his wRC+ to settle in at 146. Daniel Vogelbach, Tyler Naquin, and Tomas Nido collected one RBI each.
On the mound, Max Scherzer returned from the injured list to throw six perfect innings with nine strikeouts, leading to 0.4 fWAR. Edwin Diaz also did his typical dominating in a five-out save, striking out three hitters in the process. Adam Ottavino gave up one run in 1.2 innings of work but added three punchouts of his own.
Mets players who struggled
Eduardo Escobar‘s bat cooled off. In 13 plate appearances against Milwaukee, he posted a 69 wRC+.
And remember how Mets catchers were suddenly hitting well? It went away during this series. James McCann didn’t record a hit in four plate appearances, and Nido posted a -31 wRC+ in two starts. Jeff McNeil had the toughest time of all, slashing just .083/.154/.083 in 13 trips to the plate.
With New York pitchers getting healthy, Showalter and the coaching staff are experimenting with David Peterson and Tylor Megill in the bullpen. It’s still early, but they combined to toss 2.2 innings and allow three runs against the Brewers. Megill did look much better in his second appearance. Drew Smith had a rough go of it in his return from the injured list, but he was also put in a tough situation.
Brewers players who gave New York a hard time
The Mets kept some of Milwaukee’s bigger threats mostly quiet during this matchup. Rowdy Tellez and Christian Yelich combined to score two runs and drive in two more. Willy Adames slashed .455/.548/.909 with three RBI and three runs scored, which led to a 287 wRC+. Mike Brosseau had just one plate appearance over the past three games, but he made it count with a pinch-hit grand slam.
New York’s offense did a good job against the Brewers’ pitching. Of the 12 Milwaukee hurlers that took the mound, only Adrian Houser compiled a positive fWAR (0.1). Corbin Burnes was the lone Brewers pitcher to complete five innings.
Miscellaneous Mets notes
You probably know this by now, but the Mets clinched a playoff berth with Monday night’s win. This will be their 10th trip to October in franchise history and the first since 2016.
With New York getting shutout on Wednesday, Alonso’s eight-game RBI streak was snapped. The Mets went 6-2 during this stretch, and the first baseman racked up four home runs and 12 RBI to go along with a 195 wRC+. His 121 RBI on the year are just three shy of tying the single-season franchise record.
Lindor has already set Mets shortstop records for home runs, RBI, and fWAR in one season. He’s one RBI shy of reaching 100 for the first time in his career. His 6.7 fWAR is currently tied with Freddie Freeman for the fourth-best mark in baseball among qualified position players.
In addition to the Mets losing on Wednesday, the Braves also lost their matchup with the Nationals. So, New York’s NL East lead remains at one game. However, Atlanta begins a series against the Phillies on Thursday while New York is idle.
On the injury side of things, it’ll be worth monitoring Brandon Nimmo’s tight quad. He’ll hopefully not have to miss much time (if any at all). However, it seems like Starling Marte is getting closer to returning.
What’s next on the schedule?
New York gets a chance to rest on Thursday, as they’ll be on the West Coast for the first time since the middle of June. They’ll be heading to the Bay to play the Oakland Athletics. If you’re already dreading late-night starts, don’t be — the Saturday and Sunday games have a scheduled first pitch for the afternoon.
Here are the details:
- Mets @ Athletics, 9:40 pm EST
- TV: SNY, Radio: WCBS 880
- Probable starters: Chris Bassitt (14-8, 3.32 ERA) vs. Cole Irvin (9-11, 3.79)
- Mets @ Athletics, 4:07 pm EST
- TV: SNY, Radio: WCBS 880
- Probable starters: Jacob deGrom (5-2, 2.32) vs. Ken Waldichuk (0-2 7.13)
- Mets @ Athletics, 4:07 pm EST
- TV: WPIX & MLBN, Radio: WCBS 880 & WEPN
- Probable starters: Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.15) vs. JP Sears (6-2, 3.58)
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Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
