Mets halfway through pivotal road trip: Here are 3 takeaways (2024)

The New York Mets reached the halfway point of their long, strange road trip — featuring 10 games in four cities — with just two wins.

With the Mets (59-54) jockeying for position in a tight wild-card race, each game over the next several weeks carries importance.

Here are three takeaways with five games left on the critical road trip.

Trouble with runners in scoring position

The Mets failed to cash in on opportunities in their 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night at Coors Field. They went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and that’s actually better than some other games lately. The Mets whiffed big in the sixth inning when Jesse Winker swung at the first pitch he saw as a pinch hitter with runners at first and third, resulting in an inning-ending double play.

Since the All-Star break, the Mets with runners in scoring position have hit just .201, better than only the San Francisco Giants (.187) and Chicago White Sox (.170) — any time a club is mentioned along with the White Sox, it’s not good.

There’s hope things will soon change. The poor stretch is about three weeks’ worth of play, which is sizable within the context of a playoff push, but still a small sample. Before the All-Star break, the Mets hit well with runners in scoring position. And they’re still hitting balls hard within the split (35.6 percent of the time, which is ninth in baseball) with a poor batting average on balls in play, which points to at least some misfortune.

Still, it’s concerning that most of the lineup has run cold at the same time. The production needs to turn up quickly.

The Mets could use more out of Pete Alonso

Zoom in, and the Mets’ first four batters in their lineup have just a .679 OPS. So a lack of production lately can be traced to at least a few key players. But zoom out, and it sure seems like if Alonso is ever going to offer a huge stretch where he carries the club, as he’s capable of doing, then now would be opportune.

For a two-month stretch over June and July, the Mets had five players boast a wRC+ of 130 or higher: Jose Iglesias (160), Francisco Lindor (158), Mark Vientos (148), Brandon Nimmo (131) and Francisco Alvarez (130). Just behind that group were J.D. Martinez (128) and Alonso (129).

Alonso’s home runs (23) are down and his numbers with runners in scoring position are uncharacteristically poor (.198 batting average, .359 slugging percentage), but he’s not having a bad season relative to the league — his 125 OPS+ is better than last year’s mark of 123, for example. It’s just that with other players regressing and coming back down to Earth, the Mets can’t afford a slide from Alonso. Perhaps that’s a bit unfair given there are other stars on the team, but as a free-agent-to-be, Alonso could use a big finish.

For the first time in nearly four years, Alonso appeared somewhere below the cleanup spot in the Mets’ batting order on Monday. Before the game, manager Carlos Mendoza attributed the decision to Cardinals starter Andre Pallante’s splits, among other things. But let’s be real: If Alonso’s going right, he’s batting third or fourth. On Sunday, Alonso had three opportunities with runners in scoring position and came up empty each time.

Sean Manaea pitching himself into a large payday

Manaea, who holds a player option for 2025 worth $13.5 million, appears on track to look like a No. 2 starter on the open market. After throwing seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals — his second straight start of seven scoreless innings with at least 10 strikeouts — Manaea lowered his ERA to 3.30, which ranks eighth in the National League.

Manaea’s surge might be at least partially sustainable for a few reasons. He’s recently made a couple of smaller mechanical tweaks within his delivery, which may have led to better command. He’s found a groove with more optimal usage of his sweeper/sinker combination. And he’s throwing his fastball up in the zone more frequently and successfully.

That’s all encouraging on an individual level for Manaea, 32.

But it’s also good for the Mets, even if it means needing to replace him — or pay him more — over the winter. Without Kodai Senga (calf), the Mets lack a true top starter, and that may be an issue if they make the playoffs. Manaea is doing his best to resemble someone who can play the role.

The Mets need to first get into the postseason, though. And that’s really where Manaea’s uptick in performance can make a big difference.

For the Mets, being able to capably cover innings looms as a concern. That’s why they traded for Paul Blackburn, who threw six solid innings in his debut Friday, to help them in the back end. They don’t have much dependable depth behind Blackburn (Tylor Megill would be next). That means they need to continue to lean on Manaea and Luis Severino, who, despite allowing five runs (four earned) in five innings Tuesday, rediscovered his velocity and threw as hard as 99 mph. Since July, Manaea has lasted at least seven innings in four of seven starts.

(Top photo of J.D. Martinez: David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Will Sammon is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the New York Mets and Major League Baseball. A native of Queens, New York, Will previously covered the Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Gators football for The Athletic, starting in 2018. Before that, he covered Mississippi State for The Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi’s largest newspaper. Follow Will on Twitter @WillSammon