What Has Made The Mets, Winners of Five Straight, A Playoff Team At All-Star Break

 

Luis Torrens (high socks) and Ben Gamel greeted by Francisco Lindor after scoring on Jeff McNeil's double in the second inning Saturday. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets have had one of the wildest starts to a season in their history, one that has them flying high, as they won their fifth in a row, 7-3 over the Colorado Rockies, at Citi Field on Saturday evening.

With this win, the Mets are the verge of completing a sweep of their six-game homestand, which opened with them taking three straight from the Washington Nationals. 

The Mets are now 49-45, with their four games over .500 matching a season high going back to April 20. They were a season-low 11 games under .500 as late as June 2, when they were 24-35, and they have gone an astonishing 25-10 since then. Yes, they have won more games in the last six weeks than they did in the first two months of the season. 

This torrid stretch has resulted in the Mets being in possession of the second Wild Card spot, within 3 three games of the Atlanta Braves. Hate to look too far ahead, but Atlanta comes to Citi Field for a four-game series at the end of the month that could have some big implications.

With the All-Star break upon us, it's a good time to assess where a team is, and what has brought them to this moment.

The three biggest takeaways looking at the Mets lineup on Saturday that are different from when the season began are:

1) Naturally, this should be first because it involves the top of the order, when shortstop Francisco Lindor took the lead-off spot and switched places with left fielder Brandon Nimmo. It jump-started both of them, who should have made the All-Star team, as they entered Saturday with mirror numbers, as Lindor was hitting .249, with 16 home runs and 48 RBI, with a .321 on-base percentage; and Nimmo was at .251 with 16 homers and 62 RBI, and a .362 OBP.

2) Mark Vinetos taking over third base in late May from Brett Baty was one of the things that totally changed this lineup. Vientos was just as touted a prospect as Baty, but after a cameo a couple of years ago, Vientos' pace stalled. Now, that's not to discount Baty being sent down in August last season at a time the Mets were ostensibly supposed to showcase young players after they sold off at the trade deadline. With all that in mind, both players entered spring training with a shot at the third base job, and it was Baty who won it. The result was not pretty, as Baty hit just .229 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 50 games. Entering Saturday, Vientos, who also plays far better in the field, appeared in 49 games, and he was hitting .299 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI. In the 20 games from June 17 through Friday, Vientos was hitting .300 with a .333 OBP, and a .588 slugging percentage, with six home runs, 15 RBI, and 15 runs scored, with five doubles.

3) The third name is Luis Torrens, who has taken over the role of backup catcher after a great stint in the starting role in late May/early June when this run began. Torrens authored the play of the season when he turned a double play to clinch the Mets' win over the Phillies in London on June 9. The Mets lost the first game of the two-game set on Saturday, and they were facing the same fate on Sunday before they erupted for three runs in the top of the ninth to take a 6-4 lead. Philadelphia got one of those runs back, and Nick Castellanos was up with the bases loaded and one out. With Drew Smith pitching for the Mets, Castellanos bounced one in front of the plate, Torrens went out to get it, had the wherewithal to take a few steps back to tag the plate for a force-out and then fired to first base to nab Castellanos to complete the remarkable 2-2-3 double play and seal the improbable 6-5 win. Even though the Mets lost their next game, when Alvarez returned, they then reeled off seven straight wins starting on June 12, the night Grimace threw out the first pitch. While the fans embraced Grimace as being the magic spark, it really was Torrens that gave it to them.

Another new face who was not in Queens when the season commenced was on the mound Saturday, highly-touted pitching prospect Christian Scott, who has pitched very well, including last Monday in Pittsburgh, when he went 5 2/3 innings, in which he allowed two earned runs on one hit and a walk, with three strikeouts.

Scott started off strong, retiring the Rockies in order, with two strikeouts, in the first inning.

Christian Scott striking out Charlie Blackmon. Photo by Jason Schott.

Then, with one out in the second, Colorado got a single from Brenton Doyle, but he was thrown out on a stolen base attempt with ease by Torrens.

That gave the Mets momentum, as they rallied against Rockies starter Ryan Feltner in the bottom half of the frame. 

Pete Alonso led off with a single, followed by a walk to D.J. Stewart, and Ben Gamel drew a one-out walk to load the bases.

Torrens was up next, and he bounced one to second base, but Brendan Rodgers threw it wide, and it went into left field, which allowed Alonso and Stewart to come home. 

Jeff McNeil then laced a double to center field to bring in Gamel and Torrens and the Mets were suddenly up, 4-0.

Colorado got one run back immediately, as Jake Cave led off the third inning with a home run into the left field corner. 

Scott would get his revenge in the fourth, as he got out of trouble by striking out Cave with two runners on base. 

Christian Scott meets up with Luis Torrens in front of the Mets dugout after the big strikeout to end the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

It was a short reprieve to what would happen in the fifth, as Charlie Blackmon drilled a two-run homer to right field, and it was 4-3 Mets.

Scott would then allow a double to Ezequiel Tovar and he walked Ryan McMahon, and that would end his afternoon. 

Jose Butto came out of the bullpen, and it took him just one pitch to get the inning-ending double play from Elias Diaz.

That was the start of a superb outing for Butto, as he struck out the side in the sixth, and retired Colorado in order in the seventh, with a pair of K’s. The 2 2/3 inning outing was enough to earn him a win, and he is now 4-3 with a 2.56 ERA (earned run average).

Scott’s final line was 4 1/3 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 1 walk, 5 strikeouts. His record remains 0-2 and a 4.36 ERA, and this was his sixth no-decision of the season.

The Mets put the game away in the bottom of the eighth, when Lindor hit a three-run homer, his 17th of the season, to open up a 7-3 lead.