Mets' romp over Yankees reveals positive signs: ‘We are dangerous'

New York Times

10 hours ago

NEW YORK — Without needing much coaxing from teammates, Pete Alonso stepped out of the New York Mets' dugout for a curtain call. He had just delivered a seventh-inning knockout blow to the New York Yankees, with his second home run on Saturday providing the Mets a six-run lead. By then, the rhythmic chants of his name shifted to loud applause.
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Those sounds only recently returned to Citi Field. The Mets showed that their horrid stretch lasting nearly three weeks may indeed be behind them by battering the wobbly Yankees, 12-6. It was the fourth straight win for the Mets (52-38), while the Yankees (48-41) have lost six in a row. For the second time in as many days, the Mets hit three home runs to claim this weekend's version of the Subway Series.
Even before Brandon Nimmo hit a first-inning grand slam off Yankees starter Carlos Rodon, people in the Mets' dugout spotted the signs that separate the lineup's good days from the bad ones.
Notably, Francisco Lindor and Alonso dictated at-bats. Alonso showed restraint by laying off tantalizing pitches, like high fastballs. Lindor remained patient, fouling away tough sliders. They both worked walks, setting up an opportunity for Nimmo to cash in with his second grand slam in four days. Rodon threw three sliders to Nimmo, who clobbered the one that caught most of the plate after two others dotted the edges of the strike zone.
'When we are controlling the strike zone as a team,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, 'we are dangerous.'
After averaging just 2.7 runs per game during a 17-game stretch in which they went 3-14, the Mets have scored six or more runs in three of their last four games. The Mets designed their offense to pick up the shortcomings of their pitching and defense. Lately, they've finally resembled those plans.
For a while, with their pitching staff decimated because of injuries, the Mets have needed their lineup to perform some heavy lifting. With so many of their own pitchers sidelined, the Yankees can relate. At last, it appears the Mets' lineup is up for the challenge of alleviating some pressure. Gifted an early lead, Mets starter Frankie Montas, who performed better than his line of four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings would indicate, pitched aggressively, throwing first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 22 batters he faced without issuing a walk.
'Both of these teams are, right now, kind of like heavyweights at the end of a 15-round match just trying to throw some haymakers,' Nimmo said. 'And both teams are pretty beat up right now. So it's a big deal when you're able to get that lead there in the beginning.'
Nimmo's celebration upon hitting the grand slam was subdued. It's not that he has grown used to it, though it was his third of the season (first Mets player to hit three in a season since Carlos Beltran in 2006). It's that he knew the Mets probably needed more. That, he said, was his immediate thought.
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So the Mets' lineup kept it going. From there, the Mets continued to resemble the kind of dynamic offense that they have the potential to be. That is, when they aren't caught up chasing pitches out of the strike zone and trying to do more than they should with every swing. At their best, they get home runs from the first half of their batting order, rely on platoons elsewhere and push nearly everyone to move aggressively on the bases.
The Mets have never had three 30-homer hitters in their history, but it's a week until the All-Star break, and Lindor (17), Nimmo (18), Alonso (20) and Soto (21) are threatening to pull off the feat as a quartet.
In the running game, Nimmo and Lindor both stole bases on Saturday, boosting the Mets' MLB-leading stolen-base rate to 87.1 percent. The Mets also rank third in extra-bases taken percentage, which tracks the amount of times a runner advances more than one base on a single or more than two bases on a double, when possible.
One of the best examples from Saturday also showcased Mendoza's touch in leveraging left-handed and right-handed matchups. With Scott Effross, a right-handed pitcher appearing in relief of Rodon, a lefty, Ronny Mauricio pinch-hit for Starling Marte. Mauricio, a switch-hitter, struggles against lefties. But he owns an .800 OPS against right-handers. Mauricio hit the first pitch he saw for a double with the game's best exit velocity (111.3 mph). Mauricio hustled out of the batter's box as soon as he made contact. Lindor followed with a single and third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh waved Mauricio home even before center fielder Trent Grisham booted the ball for another run.
The Mets' lineup isn't totally fixed; even on a big day like Saturday, it still appeared top-heavy, with the sixth through ninth batters going 0-for-14 (Mark Vientos, batting sixth, nonetheless hit three balls incredibly hard). But it's been a marked improvement from where things were less than a week ago. And it's the kind of effort they still need to rely on, at least until their rotation gets healthier. While Mets officials hope Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea can return next weekend, New York needs to start Chris Devenski as an opener on Sunday with Brandon Waddell in line for a bulk role.
'The number of quality at-bats has gone up,' Nimmo said. 'When we out-quality-at-bat the other team, we usually win.'
(Photo of Mets celebrating their win Saturday: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)