Through the first six weeks of the season, the Mets lost five straight, won six straight, took road series from the Dodgers and Braves, and were swept by the Rays.
There are a lot of unknowns for a team worthy of an 18-18 record, but they are showing signs of potential and signs that this season should be viewed as a rebuilding year.
The next seven games could be a litmus test if the Mets are going to show early on whether they’re true championship favorites or if they’re headed toward becoming sellers at the deadline.
Six or seven wins over the Braves and Phillies would send a message that the Mets should be considered a legitimate playoff threat.
Six or seven losses to the Braves and Phillies would send a message that 2024 could effectively be over by the end of July.
“You’re trying to corner them, you’re trying to corner them,” Jeff McNeil said Thursday at Citi Field. He and Hank Azaria co-hosted a charity poker event benefiting the Metropolitan PGA Foundation and the Humane Club. Solidarity project. “They’re going to be the team to beat. Hopefully we can go out and run some errands this week.”
The Mets begin their third straight game at home against the Braves on Friday, but in some ways they’re a team that’s gotten off to a slow start. Matt Olson is hitting .200. Ronald Acuña Jr. is batting just .261 with two home runs. Michael Harris II boasts an OPS of .671, and with Marcell Ozuna competing as the major home run king, he still has the fourth-highest RBI average in baseball.
The Mets have already won two of three games from the Atlanta powerhouse last month, defeating Friday starting pitcher Charlie Morton and the subsequently demoted Alan Winans.
The Braves’ rotation is established and is performing well enough for the club to hold the third-best record in the National League.
MLB’s best record belongs to the Phillies (26-12), who lost in the NLCS last year but returned with almost the same lineup.
Their rotation had great depth, with Alec Bohm’s step forward and Bryce Harper’s added dominance leading the offense.
The Mets will play the Phillies for the first time this season on Monday, starting a four-game series split between Queens and Philadelphia.
“We know they’re a good team, but we’re a good team,” manager Carlos Mendoza said this week. “We’re up for the challenge, the players will be ready. They’ll be excited, it’ll be fun.”
There are signs that the mid-major Mets’ offense is getting back on track.
Coming out of a slump and not showing much promise in April, McNeil is on track to improve his batting average to .248 with three hits a game.
Pete Alonso suffered a one-for-29 at-bat funk and was unusually left out of the starting lineup, but he hit a home run and a double and improved his OPS from .710 to .742.
Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Brett Batty are on the rise as well.
But throughout the first month and a half, one side of the Mets showed up, while another declined.
Can the bullpen, the club’s biggest strength to date, continue to perform well under heavy usage?
Will Mendoza press the right buttons with an influx rotation that could retain rookie Christian Scott and expand to six starting pitchers?
There are a lot of questions about the mid-major Mets club.
The Mets may start to get some answers this week.
“You want to beat them. They’re at the top of our division right now,” McNeil said of the Braves and Phillies. “They’re playing really good baseball.
“I think you have the same motivation. [as any game]. But at the same time, I think those games are really important and a little more important. ”
