3 takeaways from the Mets' series loss to Angels: Bullpen questions, runners left on base and National League weakness
Mets relief pitcher Phil Maton throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. Credit: AP/Ryan Sun
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Here are a few takeaways from the Mets’ series loss to the Angels over the weekend.
1. In the Mets’ bullpen, major questions remain.
The past couple of days would’ve been far less agita-inducing had Huascar Brazoban gotten through the seventh inning (and then someone else handled the eighth and Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth) Saturday night.
But instead, in his first real test since joining the Mets in a trade with the Marlins last week, Brazoban blew the late lead and the game.
For all of the changes and moving parts, the Mets’ bullpen does not have locked-in, lockdown relievers setting up for Diaz. Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek are solid; Reed Garrett and Dedniel Nunez were good earlier in the year but are on the injured list. Nobody, however, is the no-doubt answer in the way that Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley were supposed to be entering the season.
That is why manager Carlos Mendoza tried Brazoban in that spot: There weren’t a whole lot of other options. Somebody needs to do it. So the Mets are throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks — the same desperation-induced approach they had when Garrett and Nunez proved trustworthy.
On the bright side: Don’t look now, but Ottavino has strung together six consecutive scoreless appearances.
2. The Mets are failing at the plate when it matters most.
The ugly numbers in three games against the Angels: 27 runners left on base and a 6-for-35 (.171) mark with runners in scoring position.
At 4.84 runs per game, the Mets still boast one of the more productive offenses in the majors, right near the NL East-leading Phillies. But several of their key bats have gone quiet lately.
Consider, for example, how these guys have done since the All-Star break (16 team games)
Brandon Nimmo: .167 average, .303 OBP, .185 slugging percentage
Francisco Alvarez: .111 average, .158 OBP, .194 slugging percentage
Harrison Bader: .222 average, .276 OBP, .259 slugging percentage.
Plus clutch first-half performers Jose Iglesias and Luis Torrens have cooled off and Jesse Winker has hit .214 with a .481 OPS in a week-plus since joining the Mets.
“I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Nimmo said. “This offense has been really, really good this year. I don’t think that’s going anywhere.”
3. The National League is not very good.
After dropping a series for the first time in more than a month, the Mets are only 1 1/2 games back of an NL postseason berth.
The collective field — Atlanta, San Diego and Arizona holding wild-card spots with the Mets, Cardinals, Pirates and maybe others behind them — is not imposing. Three of those teams are going to the playoffs. The Mets very much can be one of them as long as they don’t have too many weekends like this one.
Heck, even the Phillies have struggled lately. The third-place Mets are eight games back in the division. That deficit probably is insurmountable, but it’s not huge.
“Our job is to continue to win series,” Mendoza said. “I keep saying it: They’re big-league teams, they’re big-league players. Anybody can beat you any day. We didn’t do that this series. We gotta move on. We got a game tomorrow against the Cardinals and move on to the next series.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
