Timing is everything, and Mets' bats are sizzling as stretch run heats up
Mets' Mark Vientos flips his bat after hitting a two-run home run in the 7th inning on Wednesday night against the Phillies at Citi Field. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
Watching the Mets’ lineup operate at near-maximum efficiency again during Wednesday night’s 6-0 victory, completing a critical three-game sweep of the Phillies, the former two-way player Nolan McLean probably wished he could have picked up a bat, too.
McLean made fast work of the (for now) NL East leaders, firing eight scoreless innings and striking out six in a game that flew by in a breezy two hours, 13 minutes. The only reason it even took that long was due to the Mets grinding for their early lead, scoring four runs on 10 hits, including nine singles, and a walk.
The revived Mark Vientos, back to hero form from a year ago, provided the loudest noise of the night, a two-run homer that wrapped the Mets’ 10th straight win over the Phillies at Citi Field, a new franchise record. Vientos has six homers and 17 RBIs over his last 10 games, and with him joining the party, these Mets are now as dangerous as everyone expected them to be when this season began.
“I feel great,” said Vientos, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games. “And I think it’s a perfect time to feel great.”
The slugging Mets that were expected to launch on Opening Day nearly took until Labor Day to finally hit their stride. But they’ve officially arrived, and in trimming their NL East deficit to four games, outscored the Phillies, 25-8, during the sweep.
Remember all that hysteria over the Mets’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position? They batted .568 (21-for-37) in those situations over the three-game series, and are hitting an MLB-best .390 with RISP for August.
“All of sudden, things are rolling, clicking and everything’s falling, and it’s like, there must have been this big change -- no,” Pete Alonso said Wednesday afternoon. “The process was there. Things are just happening, and we’re happy that they’re happening.”
On Wednesday night, the Mets took a 3-0 lead in the third inning on Brett Baty’s leadoff double, a bunt single by the catcher Hayden Senger, then three consecutive RBI singles by Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Alonso. Senger was clearly trying to sacrifice, but instead poked a power-bunt that shot past a sliding Taijuan Walker.
“Barreled it,” the smiling Senger said.
That’s just how it’s going for the Mets here in August. They’re hitting everything hard, doing damage whenever possible. They tacked on another run in the fifth on a walk and two singles, with Vientos driving in that run before his blast in the seventh.
“We got a lot of guys clicking right now,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Vientos continues to put together some really good at-bats. We’re seeing that version that we saw a lot last year and that’s a game-changer.”
The proof is in the numbers. Heading into Wednesday night’s series finale, the Mets had bashed their way to the top of most key offensive categories through their first 23 games of August. They led the majors in OPS (.849) and wRC+ (139) and ranked second in runs (139), batting average (.281) and homers (41). That’s pretty much where we expected these Mets to be all along, as out-bidding the world for Soto and bringing back Alonso were part of a very expensive strategy to clobber opponents into submission.
It just took a while for the Mets to get there. Four months to be exact. And this offensive outburst is showing signs of being real rather than a fluctuating trend.
“Obviously with the talent, you set high standards,” Alonso said. “But it’s not going to be like that every day. It’s going to take a journey, and then coming down the stretch, that’s where you want to play your best baseball.”
The 2025 Mets were designed to be an offensive juggernaut, as owner Steve Cohen devoted sizable dollars to make run production the primary part of this $333 million roster’s DNA. But they were streaky through the first half, and only now have settled into an August groove where many of their previously misfiring components are functioning together. Look at Cohen’s “Fab Four,” a group that earlier had trouble playing in sync.
Alonso and Soto are tied for the team lead with seven homers this month, Alonso is No. 1 with 25 RBIs and Lindor is first with 22 runs scored. Brandon Nimmo, after delivering the walkoff RBI single in Tuesday night’s 6-5 victory, went 3-for-4 Wednesday night.
But it’s more than the lineup’s Fab Four driving this August resurgence.
Francisco Alvarez was actually the Met who jump-started it with the best OPS (1.059) this month before being sidelined with a sprained thumb. Before Wednesday, Baty’s .984 OPS in August ranked third, behind Lindor’s 1.000, and Vientos (.952) was fourth on that list.
Go right down the list. Starling Marte, one of the Mets’ most consistent hitters all season, had a .931 OPS this month, right behind Soto (.934). Even Tyrone Taylor, the glove-first centerfielder marginalized by the Cedric Mullins trade, was hitting .360 (9-for-25) to make an impact in his limited usage.
“I think nine times out of 10 this team is going to get the job done,” Vientos said. “Just how great a hitting team we are. I think we’re in a stretch that it’s going to continue happening.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
