Three takeaways from the Mets' series loss to the Miami Marlins
Juan Soto of the Mets reacts after striking out during the eighth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The weekend was a brutal one for the Mets, who dropped three of four games to the Marlins at Citi Field.
The Mets (73-64) are six games behind the NL East-leading Phillies and hold a four-game lead over Cincinnati for the NL’s third wild card.
Here are three takeaways from the series:
1. The outcome was a massive letdown, but there’s no time to sulk
It was all good feelings for the Mets on Wednesday night after Nolan McLean’s eight-inning gem polished off a three-game sweep of the Phillies, moving the club within a manageable four games of the division lead.
But to follow that by losing three of four to a sub-.500 division rival at home? Not ideal.
The schedule only heats up with a 10-game road trip starting Monday. The Mets will play three games at AL Central-leading Detroit, though they will avoid 2024 AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
The following seven games all have direct playoff implications: three at Cincinnati, which took two of three from the Mets last month, and four at Philadelphia.
The urgency could not be greater.
2. Juan Soto looks like Juan Soto
Soto almost played the hero himself in Saturday’s 11-8 loss with two homers, including a two-run shot that tied it at 8 in the sixth.
But a look at the bigger picture shows why Soto, one of the sport’s clutchest players, is back to himself.
With runners in scoring position through July 31, Soto had a .185/.331/.370 slash line, a 17.6% walk rate and a 78 wRC+.
With RISP since Aug. 1? Through Saturday’s game, Soto has a .409/.600/.682 slash line, a 34.3% walk rate and a 249 wRC+.
“He’s Juan Soto,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We knew [his struggles weren’t] going to last too long. He’s as clutch as he gets. We’ve just been waiting for this version, and finally that’s what we’re seeing.”
That version completely changes the complexion of the Mets’ lineup.
“We have everything we need to go all the way,” Soto told Newsday. “So I think this is a championship lineup. When we come through together as a team, I think it’s what it takes us to go to the championship.”
3 Jonah Tong brings more excitement, but the rotation woes are obvious
Like McLean, Tong has Mets fans dreaming of what could be.
Tong pitched five innings in the Mets’ 19-9 win Friday, striking out six, walking none and allowing four runs (only one earned in a two-error fifth) and six hits.
But with the Mets’ rotation as a whole, championship thoughts are on the back burner.
Clay Holmes was OK in Thursday’s 7-4 loss, but his 142 1⁄3 innings pitched (72 1⁄3 more than any other season in his career) are an obvious discussion. David Peterson was charged with eight runs in two innings-plus on Saturday.
And the problems continued Sunday as Kodai Senga, who has not been able to find his footing in nine starts since returning from a right hamstring strain, allowed five runs in 4 2⁄3 innings.
The youth movement is working. Perhaps Brandon Sproat, who threw seven scoreless innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, could be waiting in the wings to join the kids — or replace one of the struggling arms — as rosters expand Monday.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
