Not much has changed in the Mets world. After winning the series against the Dodgers, 2-1, the Mets lost three straight games and lost the series to the Giants, 1-2. A 3-3 record is pretty uneventful, but I see it as an absolute success. Coming out .500 on a West Coast trip feels rare for the Mets. Whenever the Mets head West, things usually go bad. It was good that the Mets played the Dodgers now because LA is usually slow to start the season. It’s a good thing they didn’t play them in the middle of the Summer when they usually rip off a crazy win streak. The best part of the wins against the Dodgers was one of them was against Yamamoto. The Mets get some revenge as Yamamoto chose the Dodgers over the Mets this offseason. If only Yamamoto knew about that DJ Stewart power.
The Mets would then win game two against the Dodgers in exciting fashion but then lose the next three games. The losses suck, but two of the games the Mets lost were against the opponent’s aces. After the Mets won two straight against the Dodgers, Los Angeles switched their pitching matchups as Tyler Glasnow replaced James Paxton. Glasgow dominated the Mets for 8 scoreless innings to get their only win of the series. Then the Mets had to face Logan Webb and the Giants, and Webb also had a fantastic game, pitching 8 scoreless innings. The aces got to the Mets, but I will stay positive. A 3-3 West Coast trip is a win in my books, especially winning the series against the Dodgers.
Now, on to the bad news. The Mets lost to key players as Fransico Alvarez and Brooks Raley headed to the IL. Shitty news, as Raley has been unhittable so far this season, and even though Alvarez has been slumping, losing a power bat like that sucks. Alvarez’s hand had taken a beating for a week straight as he slid into a bag awkwardly, a swing hit his hand while catching, and finally, he tripped up, and his thumb took the full weight of his body. The 6-8 weeks are going to be brutal without him, but at least we get to see fan-favorite Tomas Nido return. Nido finally ended the 20+ stolen base streak opponents had on the Mets. He’s already having a positive start to his return.
Continuing off of the Brooks Raley news, the good thing is the Mets still have a really good bullpen. I gave Reed Garrett his flowers in last week’s blog, but he’s still been awesome. Sadly, he gave up his first earned run of the season but continues to dominate. Another pitcher who has been great is Adam Ottavino. I have a love/hate relationship with Ottavino, but he is off to a hot start right now. Having a 1.86 ERA, Ottavino has limited hitters from scoring by not letting anyone get on base, having a 0.517 WHIP. Garrett and Ottavino have been excellent, and the numbers show that as they are 3rd and 4th in strikeout percentage throughout the MLB.
Finally, the best news of the week is that JD Martinez will make his debut for the Mets tonight! It’s been a little shaky to the start of JD’s career, but Martinez recovered from the back soreness and is now ready for major league ball. It comes at the expense of New York native Zach Short, so we salute you and hope you stay with the organization in Triple-A. The addition of Martinez should be felt immediately as he gets put in the middle of the lineup. I am interested to see if he bats 4th or 5th in the lineup, but either or is fine. I am very excited to finally see JD in the orange and blue.
Players of the Week:
- Jeff McNeil: 9 H, .391 AVG, 3 2B, 1 RBI, .417 OBP, .522 SLG, .938 OPS
- Francisco Lindor: 9 H, .375 AVG, 3 HR, 2B, 8 RBI, .400 OBP, .792 SLG, 1.192 OPS
- Starling Marte: 9 H, .360 AVG, HR, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 3 SB, .360 OBP, .560 SLG, .920 OPS
- Tyrone Taylor: 3 G, 2 H, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, .750 SLG, 1.000 OPS
- Sean Manaea: 2 GS, 2-0, 9.2 IP, 2 ER (He needs to pitch more innings, but he did good)
- Adam Ottavino: 2 G, 2.2 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
- Reed Garrett: 3 G, 2 W, 1 SV, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 8 K
- Edwin Diaz: 2 G, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K
- Jorge Lopez: 2 G, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER
Needs Improvement:
- Brandon Nimmo: 1 H, 17 AB, 8 BB, .059 AVG, .059 SLG
- Jose Qunitana: 1 GS, 0-1, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 K
- Adrian Houser: 1 GS, 0-1, 4.0 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 K
Now, let’s check out what the Mets have coming up.
The Mets return home tonight to take on the Cardinals. As I said earlier in the blog, it’s nice to have JD Martinez in this lineup, He makes this team even better, and the offense has been hot the past few weeks. The pitching matchups for this series will be Jose Butto V. Miles Mikolas for game one, Adrian Houser V. Sonny Gray for game two, and Jose Quintana V. Lance Lynn for the final game. The Cardinals entered this season as frauds as too many people saw the Cardinals rebounding from last year. It’s been a slow start, as the Cardinals are 11-14 entering Friday’s game. I think the Mets should win this series but face some tough pitching. Mikolas has had an abysmal start to the season, but Gray and Lynn have been good. But as I keep reiterating in every blog, the Mets hitting will be the key to their victory. As long as the starting pitching holds, the Mets should win.
After that, the Mets stay in New York to take on another NL Central team, the Chicago Cubs, in a four-game series. This will be a much more difficult challenge, as the Cubs are a lot better than the Cardinals. The pitching matchups will be Luis Severino V. Jameson Taillon in game one, Sean Manaea V. Javier Assad in game two, Jose Butto V. Shota Imanaga in game three, and Adrian Houser V. TBD in game four. As this blog is being written, the Mets will have to face three pitchers with an ERA below 2.00. I’m hoping for a split, but that’s me being hopeful.
Until next time, let’s go Mets!
PS: There will be a Knicks blog out tomorrow. I am waiting for more news to come out, but be prepared for the most unhinged blog I will ever write.
SmallDog Sports 
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