The New York Mets down stretch has carried on for longer than three months. Anytime the team strings together some wins, they are met with a losing streak. In June, they went 6–9 to start the month. However, they proceeded to only win six more going into July.
The inconsistency culminated in manager Carlos Mendoza being fired and subsequently replaced with interim manager Andy Green. With there being a little more than a week before the All-Star break, the Mets are in last place of the NL East at 36–51. The only way they can climb back up the rankings is if they go on another win streak. This can all start during a pivotal three-game stretch against the Atlanta Braves, with the series opener on Friday.
Mets Down Stretch Continues
After a lackluster start to the season, there was some hope that the Mets can break away from this down stretch. Starting the month with six wins was good enough. Carson Benge showed signs of improvement out of the lead-off spot. Bo Bichette was coming along as a secondary option to Juan Soto. Not to mention, shortstop Francisco Lindor returned from the Injured List at the end of the month.
Everything was going well enough for the Mets, until they began to unravel again. The starting pitching was and still is the root cause of most of their problems, as they were swept by the Chicago Cubs and lost another two to the Philadelphia Phillies. Freddy Peralta was providing far from ideal performances, giving up 10 earned runs in less than two innings against the Phillies. Kodai Senga and David Peterson also fell short of expectations. Ultimately, Peterson was traded to the Cubs, while Senga was moved to the relief unit.
As the performances remained inconsistent, the Mets have something going with Nolan McLean. The rookie righty had an outing where he struck out nine and allowed one run to score. He led his team in another outing with seven strikeouts, while holding the opponents scoreless. Yet, he did give up seven hits and six earned runs in his final start of June.
On The Contrary
Going into the series against the Braves, the Mets did have the advantage of defeating their rivals already twice this season. In both outings, runs were kept off the board and the lineup made most out of their attempts. The same will have to happen, with the team relying on Soto, Lindor and Bichette to deliver if they want to end this down stretch.
One the flip side, the Braves lost three straight to end June. They split their next two outings ahead of facing the Mets. Right-hander Grant Holmes will take the mound in the series opener against Christian Scott, who has been efficient for the Mets, with a 2–0 record with 53 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA. Holmes, meanwhile, is 4–4 with 69 strikeouts and a 3.96 ERA.
First pitch for Friday’s series opener between these teams is at 7:15 pm Eastern from Truist Park.
More Atlanta Braves Articles
More New York Mets Articles
More MLB Articles
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
- Categories
-
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
