Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso busted their slumps; now it's time for the rest of the Mets to keep it going
Pete Alonso of the Mets celebrates his third-inning three-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Francisco Lindor, the noted philosopher-shortstop, had this to say Wednesday afternoon regarding his slump-busting performance in the Mets’ 6-3 victory over the Angels at Citi Field.
“When you’re good, you’re good,” Lindor said. “When you suck, you suck. It is what it is.”
Now down to their final 59 games, the Mets don’t have the luxury of alternating between the two. It’s time for a lot more good if they’re going to knock off the Phillies in the NL East race, and that has less to do with the upcoming trade deadline than making sure the key parts of this October-bound engine are functioning properly the rest of the way.
Wednesday’s sweep-clinching victory, the Mets’ fourth straight after stumbling out of the All-Star break, was a major step in that direction. Lindor snapped an 0-for-31 funk with a pair of RBI singles and Pete Alonso, briefly sidelined Sunday with a bruised hand, went deep for the first time since July 8, crushing a three-run homer that traveled 439 feet before crashing into the leftfield’s second deck.
Lindor and Alonso were going to step up eventually. But this pair of Mets’ All-Stars hadn’t been so sparkly lately, and if you lump in Juan Soto’s recent hiccup (.111 over his last 11 games), Steve Cohen’s once-celebrated “Fab Four” had been reduced to a Brandon Nimmo solo act.
Nimmo stayed on brand Wednesday, launching the 14th leadoff homer of his career while extending his on-base streak to a season-best 17 games. He also is hitting .312 with 11 homers, 30 RBIs and a .918 OPS over his last 50 games since May 26 (his 59 hits during that stretch is tied for the second-most in the majors).
The other three? They’ve had some catching up to do, and while Lindor attracted the most attention -- along with supportive cheers from the increasingly anxious Citi crowd -- Alonso’s malaise was perhaps more worrisome due to the hand issue that suddenly popped up. Alonso even skipped the Home Run Derby to specifically recharge in preparation for a monster second half, yet he entered Wednesday in a 2-for-33 (.061) slide with a .270 OPS over the 10 games since his last homer.
But seeing Alonso flex some Polar Bear muscle on that 94-mph, lower-third fastball from Angels’ reliever Jake Eder had to make the Mets feel like their first-half MVP finally was out of hibernation. For the durable Alonso, who prides himself on playing as close to 162 as possible, he’d never admit the bruised hand was holding him back. Still, it was good for the Mets to witness evidence to that effect.
“When he’s on time, it allows him to make some really good swing decisions,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not only that, the barrel and the way he can get it to the contact point. Off the bat, what a shot there, right?”
Nimmo, Lindor and Alonso accounted for all six runs Wednesday and we’ll assume that Soto, who previously earned Mr. June honors, rejoins the party before too long. But the Mets picked up some other crucial intel during this homestand that should be helpful in weighing their options before the July 31 trade deadline.
At the top of that list is Francisco Alvarez, who instantly rebounded from his shocking Syracuse demotion with two impactful games that suggest he could be the difference-maker behind the plate the Mets were counting on (Alvarez took a breather Wednesday). Also, Brett Baty is quietly proving himself reliable as an everyday starter at two positions, and with Wednesday’s second-inning single, he’s now hitting .306 (22-for-72) with an .891 OPS over his last 25 games.
Maybe president of baseball ops David Stearns wasn’t crazy to suggest Tuesday that he could get by with Baty and a supporting cast of young infielders that also includes Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna. If Baty keeps this up, Vientos (eventually) turns back the clock to 2024 again and Alvarez is truly fixed, the Mets start looking legitimately dangerous from the bottom half of the lineup.
We’ll admit that’s asking for a lot. But it’s easier to bank on if the “Fab Four” starts being fabulous again, as they mostly were Wednesday. Even Tyrone Taylor -- drawing one of his shrinking starts in centerfield -- was a factor with a third-inning leadoff walk and run scored from the No. 9 spot. With Stearns’ confidence in Jeff McNeil playing center, the Mets can lean on the glove-first Taylor more as a late-inning defensive replacement, allowing them to use their prospect capital on multiple bullpen arms -- a market that Stearns said he’ll be aggressive in.
On the rotation front, Sean Manaea seemed to shelve any lingering concerns with Wednesday’s five-inning, 82-pitch performance (two hits, one run, five Ks). Maybe he didn’t have his A-plus stuff (despite striking out the side in the first) but Manaea attributed that to the ongoing process of building up stamina in just his third appearance (two starts) this season.
“I’m definitely an adrenaline guy and it’s hard to replicate that anywhere else,” Manaea said of his rehab process. “So I think just getting more reps at the big-league level is going to work.”
For the Mets, taking a four-game winning streak to the West Coast made for a nice sendoff. But the longer-term importance of this homestand was bigger than the victories -- with more good than suck on the second-half agenda.
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.
