The Mets split the week with a 3-3 record against the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels. With their loss on Sunday afternoon, they now find themselves on the outside looking in of the National League Wild Card race, sitting 1.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final spot. Despite not staying ahead of the curve this week, the Mets played a solid brand of baseball overall and still have an opportunity to make some noise heading into the final two months of the regular season.
J.D. Martinez, Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The veteran slugger produced with runners on base throughout the week, leading the offense with eight RBIs across six games. Four of those eight came from one swing of the bat when he belted a go-ahead grand slam to center field off Angels’ pitcher Hunter Strickland on Saturday. Despite the big blast, the Mets fell short 5-4 after a three-run long ball from Angels’ shortstop Zach Neto.
Martinez started the week hot, collecting two RBIs and one run scored in Monday night’s 15-2 victory. His RBIs came via a sac fly that capped a six-run 4th inning and a fielder’s choice later in the 6th. Following his solid performance, he got the offense on the board with an RBI single in Tuesday’s victory, a game where the Mets pitched a shutout.
J.D.’s final stats of the week saw him go 6-for-16 at the plate while drawing five walks and scoring twice. He added a double for his second extra-base hit of the week to pair with his grand slam in Anaheim. Through 298 at-bats this season, Martinez is hitting .265/.348/.450 with a .798 OPS. While he isn’t hitting for the type of power he has in the past, he’s been an important cog in the middle of the lineup who has lined up well slated in front of Alonso in the order.
Manaea struggled in his first two starts after the All-Star break against the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees, but boy did he bounce back this week with a masterful performance at Citi Field Tuesday. It was the day after the Mets’ offense exploded for 15 runs in a 15-2 routing over the Twins. Naturally, the following day was a pitchers’ duel where Manaea led the way to a 2-0 victory.
He tossed seven scoreless innings while only allowing three total baserunners, including two hits and one walk. He dialed up the strike zone with 70 of 96 pitches thrown for strikes (73%). Manaea set his season high in strikeouts with 11 on the day, and it was the second time he recorded double-digit strikeouts in a game this season.
Manaea is tied for wins with Luis Severino on the team after picking up his seventh win Wednesday. In an era where pitchers’ wins aren’t valued as highly, it’s no surprise two players who have been the most consistent in the rotation co-lead that category.
Pete Alonso, Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Alonso gets the honorable mention this week after swatting two home runs in part of two wins. In their blowout victory on Monday, he started the hitting party with a solo shot, which tied the game at one, while picking up a double later that night. His go-ahead two-run home run on Friday gave the Mets a 3-1 lead, a lead they never gave back before closing it out 5-1. With his power performance, Alonso regained the team lead for home runs this season (23), with Francisco Lindor trailing behind with 22.
The Mets make a quick pit stop in St. Louis on Monday to play a make-up game against the Cardinals starting at 5:15 PM EST. This game had originally been scheduled for May 8 before it was rained out. The team will then once again travel out west to take on the Rockies and Mariners before returning home to Flushing next week.
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