The Mets did what they needed to do this week, taking two of three from a hot Diamondbacks team and sweeping the lowly White Sox to pull themselves to within a game of the Braves for the third NL Wild Card slot. Though the offense didn’t exactly explode this week, it did enough to win the Mets the games. There are three poop emojis here, which is quite ugly, but collectively they do not represent a whole lot of the plate appearances on the whole and most of the core of the lineup hit well this week.
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We’ll get the bad news out the way first and start with the glaring trio of poop emojis that happen to fall sequentially in this meter. Francisco Alvarez did not have a walk-off homer this time to help him avoid the poop, so poop it is for him as he remains lost at the plate. This week, it was to the tune of a 4 wRC+ in 16 plate appearances. His utter absence of power remains stark; his three hits this week were all singles, but he did drive in two runs and score two runs. Still, it was not enough to avoid the poop this time. Unfortunately, Luis Torrens continues to not do any better, as he went 1-for-6 this week.
Harrison Bader and José Iglesias represent the other two poop emojis here, but the Mets are a deep enough team that their cold spells have just meant that they have not played as much. Bader’s one hit this week in 13 plate appearances was an impactful one—a game-tying homer in Wednesday’s game. Unfortunately it would be the only game the Mets would go on to lose this week. Similarly, Iglesias had just two hits this week in 11 plate appearances—both singles. But one of those singles turned out to be the game-winning RBI hit in the ninth in Thursday’s rubber game agains the Diamondbacks—a clutch hit. So though both Bader’s and Iglesias’ bats are cold, they did each come through in the clutch once this week.
Other than that, this meter is overwhelmingly positive. Jesse Winker is the standout performer offensively this week with a team-leading 248 wRC+ in 17 plate appearances this week. Winker had a huge series in Chicago, going 3-for-4 in the series opener with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored and 3-for-3 on Saturday with a home run, two RBIs, and a run scored. Overall, Winker’s eight hits this week lead the team and his four RBIs are second most on the team, despite not playing every day.
Pete Alonso is the RBI leader with five, despite a .160 batting average for the week. Though Alonso had just four hits, three of those four hits were home runs and his five runs scored also are tied for the team lead. But he also struck out eleven times. So it was a weird week for him. But the Polar Bear did reach 30 home runs this week, marking the 4th season in a row he has achieved that feat and the 5th time in his career.
Aside from Alonso, Francisco Lindor is the only Met to go deep multiple times this week. He got the Mets on the board yesterday with a solo homer and it would be the only run the Mets would score until the ninth inning, carrying the margin of victory all on its own for most of the game. Lindor also hit a clutch game-tying home run in Thursday’s victory against the Diamondbacks in the sixth inning. Overall, Lindor matches Alonso for the team lead with five runs scored. He was also second on the team in hits with seven. He drove in two runs and walked twice, putting up a 158 wRC+ over 27 plate appearances for the week.
Brandon Nimmo racked up seven hits as well and perhaps he is finally emerging from the darkness. He is back in the green this week with a 135 wRC+ in 24 plate appearances for the week. Nimmo’s big day at the plate was in the series opener in Arizona, in which he went 3-for-5 with a double and run scored. Unfortunately Nimmo had just one extra base hit this week, but he did also walk three times.
Mark Vientos rounds out the trio of Mets to amass seven hits this week. All seven of those hits were singles, so that’s good for just a 114 wRC+ for the week. Vientos also walked twice, scored two runs, and drove in two runs. He has remained consistently in the green in this second half and this week is no exception.
J.D. Martinez is in the green for the second straight week as well with a 133 wRC+ in 25 plate appearances this week. Martinez hit a two-run homer in Friday’s series opener in Chicago, which represents two of his three RBIs for the week. He collected six hits, walked three times, and scored four runs this week.
Jeff McNeil leads the team in walks this week with four and overall put up a strong 145 wRC+ in 18 plate appearances. He collected four hits—two singles and two doubles. He scored one run and drove in two runs this week.
Tyrone Taylor had just one hit in seven plate appearances this week, but it was a double. He was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in Tuesday’s game to score a run, getting credit for an RBI. He scored a run as well. He also continues to impress with his glove, making an incredible leaping grab into the netting in foul territory in Chicago on Friday.
Starling Marte has turned things around after a slow start since being activated from the injured list, putting up a solid even if unremarkable 110 wRC+ this week. Marte had five hits—three singles and two doubles. He also scored a run and drove in two runs this week.
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