The Mets will be back at home on Friday, and they seem to be on a winning streak.
They defeated the Cubs 7-2 in front of 41,243 fans at Citi Field, marking the beginning of a series where they will play 15 out of 21 games at home.
This victory was quite convincing, as the Mets effectively hit against right-hander Jameson Taillon and received a solid performance from Clay Holmes, boosting their record to 14-3 in Queens.
Holmes allowed just one run over seven innings, which brought his ERA down to 2.74 for the season.
Meanwhile, the offense supported him by scoring six runs on Taillon in just four innings.
The scoring kicked off with Francisco Lindor hitting his fourth leadoff home run of the season.
Brett Baty followed up with his second home run since being called up from Triple-A Syracuse, contributing to the early momentum.
Then, Jeff McNeill, another lefty, added a third home run to make it 3-0.
The Mets piled up bases with one walk and two infield hits later in the game.
Luisangel Acuña nearly executed a double play to end the inning, but shortstop Dansby Swanson’s high throw allowed Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez to score, pushing the lead to 5-0.
The Cubs finally got on the board when Kyle Tucker hit his tenth home run of the season.
This marked the first home run Holmes allowed all year.
Juan Soto kept his recent hot streak going, launching a solo home run that traveled an estimated 434 feet, hitting the center-right area of the field.
This was his third home run in two games, bringing his total for the season to eight.
Before the game, Carlos Mendoza remarked that Soto’s hitting style has changed somewhat, noting he isn’t hitting as many grounders.
Currently, Soto has a .300 average with seven extra-base hits and seven walks over his last 38 plate appearances.
“He’s a special hitter,” said the manager. “We knew it would turn around eventually… he uses the entire field and elevates the ball more.”
An interesting note is that Teyron hasn’t allowed a home run to a left-handed batter in any of his seven starts this season, yet Mendoza is keen on filling the lineup with lefties.
This strategy led to Mark Bientos sitting out for the second consecutive game as the designated hitter, following McNeill’s hamstring issue.
This lineup choice seems to be working, as the Mets have now won two games straight after previously losing five of seven during a tough stretch.
Alvarez continued to impress behind the plate, successfully catching Pete Crow Armstrong attempting to steal second base.
Throughout the season, Alvarez has thrown out four of ten base-stealers.
The only worrisome moment came from Dedniel Nuñez, who had another inconsistent performance after returning from a forearm injury that cut his 2024 season short. He walked two batters and failed to get through eight innings, having allowed three runs in his first game back.
Reed Garrett managed to get Seiya Suzuki to fly out, extinguishing the threat, while Jose Battle let a home run from Michael Bush in the ninth.
