Friday night, the Mets scored an 11-3 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, improving to 53-29 since Grimace threw the first pitch on June 12. But let’s face it: as great as Grimace is, the spotlight needs to be on the players, winners of 12 of the last 14 games.
Kudos to Francisco Lindor, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Edwin Diaz, Jose Iglesias, and Jose Butto, among others. They have been doing the job of sustaining this great run since June. At 81-66 and leading the last Wild Card spot that has them on pace to win 91 games, it’s time to realize maybe the Mets can win it all this season.
That’s right, and it’s not a crazy take. They.ve managed to go 57-33 since June after being 24-33 at the end of May. When a team sustains great baseball by winning most series for a span of a few months, it’s okay to dream big and wonder how good they really are.
The Mets managed to get by with some luck in June by grinding out several wins. Now, they know how to win games when they expect to win. They are no longer hoping for wins. That’s a big difference. Another difference is that the Mets have a killer instinct.
We saw that on Friday night and Wednesday afternoon, too, in the Mets’ 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. After the Mets failed to score with runners at first and second with two outs in the first inning, they finally got to Nola by scoring six runs in the fifth inning, including a couple of three-run home runs by Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo. That came after the Mets broke the game open after Lindor broke Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid by hitting a home run, tying the game at one. The Mets went on to complete a six-run ninth inning.
They swept the inept Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox to go on a run, which they are currently on.
The Mets have been predicated by their starting pitching this season, and the starters are still going strong, which makes you think this could last into October. You can’t take this for granted since most baseball teams have dealt with starting pitching injuries this year.
That said, Manaea has been excellent all season, and he has taken his game up a notch by going 5-1 with a 2.81 ERA with 62 strikeouts to show for it over his last eight starts dating back to July 30. Across his last 15 starts, Manaea has allowed three or fewer hits eight times, and the Mets are 12-3 during that span. He will be considered a favorite to win the Cy Young if Chris Sale fails to chase the Triple Crown by leading the National League in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Then you have Severino, who has finally pitched to his potential in his first season as a Met. He has thrown 166 innings, the most he has posted since 2018 when he went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA that had finished in the top 10 of the AL Cy Young voting. He is 10-6 with a 3.74 ERA with 144 strikeouts, and he has allowed one or fewer runs in four of his last five starts.
How about David Peterson? He is 9-2 with a 2.98 ERA and 4-1 with a 2.39 ERA over his last eight starts. He has gone deep in games. He and Severino have benefitted from the pitching lab created by the Mets president of baseball operations, which has them as effective starters. Considering Tylor Megill struggled, which had him out of the starting rotation, and Pete Blackburn being hurt, he has been invaluable.
After a rough August, Quintana pitched well in his last four starts, pitching to a 0.36 ERA. He was excellent on Friday night by allowing no runs and three hits in seven innings while striking out four against a loaded Phillies lineup. He set the tone in this game early by matching zeros with Nola until the Phillies starter blinked.
With the starters going deep, the bullpen has been much better and more reliable because it is not being overused. The Mets have an effective bullpen to close our games with Butto and Diaz, and they have a bridge to Butto and Diaz with relievers such as Phil Maton, Reed Garrett, and Ryan Stanek. Moreover, the lineup has been consistently good this season. They continue to score runs, with Lindor leading the way. A different hero steps up each game.
When you look at all the factors that helped the Amazin’s be in their position, it shouldn’t be surprising they were ready to go against the Phillies on this Friday night.
Yes, they have a tough finish with six more games against their weekend opponent. That’s followed by three more games against the Atlanta Braves at Atlanta and the final three games of the season against the Brewers, who will likely rest their players that weekend as they get ready for the playoffs. But this Mets team is equipped to beat those teams. They have kept winning and have not looked back.
This team has the look of a playoff team. It showed on Wednesday and Friday. It has been there for a long time now. Based on their actions, it’s not crazy to think they can win it all this year. They have all the components and attributes of a championship team.
The Mets have been a great story in town this year, and it will get only better with 15 games remaining in the regular season.
