With the playoff spot looking shaky and only two weeks to go in the season, the Mets analyzed the performance of pitchers Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea. They seemed to realize they hadn’t exactly tapped into a better version of either pitcher and were instead attempting to optimize what they currently had.
If there was a signal that it was time to ramp things up, it was definitely heard loud and clear.
The shared pitching strategy worked well, and the offense stepped up, leading to a solid 8-3 win against the Padres in front of a crowd of 41,819 at Citi Field on Tuesday.
With this victory, Carlos Mendoza’s team (78-73) briefly pulled ahead of the Diamondbacks, who were set to play against the Giants later that evening.
Holmes pitched four innings, giving up two runs, while Manaea contributed another inning with five runs. Together, they helped to neutralize what had been a strong Padres offense, sparing the Mets bullpen for future matches and hinting at a possible postseason strategy.
Everyone in the lineup contributed offensively, which made it clear how they could navigate through October. However, there was one concern: Francisco Alvarez had to exit the game after taking a high-speed pitch to his left arm in the eighth inning.
Back in August, the Mets boasted one of the top offenses in the league, but they had struggled with consistency, failing to score more than five runs in 11 consecutive games, including nine losses.
It took two innings for the Mets to get on the board against Michael King, who was coming back from injuries. They rallied for seven runs and executed nine hits before making their sixth out, marking their first sizeable win in weeks.
The momentum was established right away. Four consecutive singles opened the scoring, but a ground ball from Mark Bientos turned into a double play, threatening to end the inning on a low note.
But Jeff McNeil stepped up, hitting a double that brought in two runs, and Brett Batty followed with a two-run home run, making it a five-run inning against King.
The Mets continued with two solo home runs—one from Francisco Lindor and another from Pete Alonso—extending their lead further. Even Cedric Mullins got in on the action, taking King deep in the fourth inning, providing plenty of support for their latest pitching strategy.
Throughout the game, the Mets maintained their offensive pressure while their pitchers went to work.
Holmes performed better than usual, allowing just three hits in his four innings, even if two of those hits were solo home runs by Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth.
After throwing 53 pitches, Holmes handed the ball off to Manaea, who utilized a mix of fast and sweeping pitches to cover five innings, giving up only four hits, including a home run to Freddie Fermin, while walking four and striking out four.
Interestingly, in his previous 16 starts, Holmes managed to get only six outs beyond five innings.
This season, Manaea has gone beyond five innings only twice out of his ten starts. However, surprisingly, the Mets bullpen had a solid night, pulling together effectively.
