The Mets are still winning games, but their offense has tailed off of late.
Over their last 12 games, they are averaging 4.1 runs, and that includes two outliers — a 10-run anomaly and the seven-run, ninth-inning rally, both against the Phillies. Compare that to the first 18 games, when they were producing 4.7 runs a game.
A number of Mets have gone cold, in particular Francisco Lindor and Eduardo Escobar. In this 12-game stretch, Lindor had just eight hits in 49 at-bats, dropping his batting average all the way down to .239 and his OPS to .742. Escobar is in a 7-for-43 rut, and had just two extra-base hits in his last 15 games, leaving him with a .693 OPS.
At the other end of the spectrum is Pete Alonso, who has a .344/.382/.682 slash line with a 1.070 OPS in May. His two-homer, five-RBI performance lifted the Mets to a Game 2 victory in Sunday’s doubleheader against the Phillies.
“Just taking whatever the opposing teams give me. I’ve always been able to go to the big parts of the field. This year it has happened a lot earlier,” Alonso said, referring to him frequently hitting the ball the other way. “I haven’t seen as many drivable pitches where you want to get big on and hit a double in the gap or go up top but I just want to stay within myself and just put good quality swings on good pitches. Going to right field is a product of having a plan and not getting too big.”
Right-hander Drew Smith is one of nine relievers to have not allowed an earned run while pitching at least 10 innings. Over 12 ¹/₃ innings, Smith has given up just four hits, walked five and struck out 16.
Tomas Nido picked up two hits in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, just the fourth time all year a Mets catcher has registered multiple hits in one game. Nido and James McCann, batting a combined .200 this year with five extra-base hits, have just 19 hits all season.