Three takeaways from Mets' series sweep of Cardinals
Mets’ Jesse Winker (3), Francisco Lindor (12) and Luisangel Acuña (2) celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 20, 2025 in New York. Credit: Noah K. Murray
The Mets made it look easy again over the weekend, sweeping the Cardinals in a four-game set. Here are three takeaways from the series.
1. The Mets keep beating up bad teams
With the possible exception of the Astros, the Mets’ schedule has been filled with teams that are or likely will be noncompetitive this season. They have taken full advantage, which is exactly what good teams are supposed to do during the soft portions of the schedule. They are 15-7 and first in the NL East.
That will change somewhat in the coming weeks, beginning with the second-place Phillies arriving for a three-game set that starts Monday. The Mets also will play the Diamondbacks three times the following week.
Monday will be the first Phillies-Mets matchup since the lopsided National League Division Series, highlighted by Francisco Lindor’s grand slam in the clinching Game 4.
“They obviously don’t like the way things ended last year and I’m sure they’d like to make a statement right away,” Brandon Nimmo said. “For us, it’s a big series. They’re a very good team. We know that from last year. We know that this year. They even improved this offseason and made some great additions.
“This is going to be a fun series. It is early, but every game counts and we’re going to go out there, we’re going to try to win [Monday]. I expect it to be high-energy. I expect it to be good baseball. It’s going to be star-studded.”
Juan Soto said: “We’re not looking at the standings or anything like that. It’s way too early. We’re just trying to win series. So that’s the mindset going into the series.”
2. Luisangel Acuna and Brett Baty are playing better
All of a sudden.
That might make for an interesting decision when Jeff McNeil (strained right oblique) returns at some point this week. The simplest answer might be to send out reserve outfielder Jose Azocar, given that the Mets have plenty of people who can play center. That is a major departure from just a week ago, when it looked as if the Mets might send down both Baty and Acuna when McNeil came back.
Acuna went 2-for-4 on Sunday to extend his career-best hitting streak to eight games. Baty also has been better lately — .308 with an .819 OPS in eight games — before an 0-for-3 line against St. Louis.
3. The Clay Holmes experiment has been a cautious success
On the day before Opening Day, Holmes said he’d wait five starts before really assessing how his transition to the rotation is going. And here he is.
Five starts in, he has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. His outing Sunday in the Mets’ 7-4 win over the Cardinals was his best yet: six innings, one run. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out six.
He recorded one out after the fifth inning in all of his previous outings combined. This time he finished the sixth.
“There’s been a lot of growth, a lot of learning as we go on the fly. Still hitting my stride a little bit. We’re getting there,” Holmes said. “I feel like with each time out, you get a little bit better. It’s nice to see the work pay off a little bit, but still feel like there’s still more room to grow here.
“I’m still kind of building that stamina. I feel like there was a stretch there where my body was like, ‘hey, what are we doing?’ a little bit. This feels different. The stress is a little different.
“Really, I don’t feel like I fully emptied the tank on some of these last starts, which is going to put me in a better position to keep climbing.”




