Week 14 of the 2021 season was the last homestand for the New York Mets before the All-Star break, lasting from July 5-7. It started off with the Mets facing the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Tylor Megill took on the Brewers’ ace, Brandon Woodruff. Omar Narvaez struck first with a solo home run to give the Brewers the lead. This was the only run Megill gave up over his five innings, once again giving the Mets a quality outing. The Mets tied it up in the bottom half of the fourth, with a Dominic Smith sacrifice fly. The Mets dominated the rest of the game, with Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto driving in a combined three runs. Edwin Diaz allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth, but it wouldn’t matter as he got the final out to give the Mets the win. The final score was 4-2.
Dominant on the Mound
It was a battle of aces in game one, with Jacob deGrom facing Corbin Burnes. Surprisingly, Luis Urias took Jake deep with a solo home run to give Milwaukee an early lead. Francisco Lindor quickly tied it back up in the bottom of the first with a single to make it a 1-1 ballgame. Jake shut Milwaukee down for the next few innings but left a ball out over the plate against Jace Peterson which was hit over the centerfield wall to give the Brewers the lead again. Outside of those two runs, Jake was dominant. He lasted seven innings allowing just four hits.
Out of the Pen
With Josh Hader coming in for the save in the bottom of the seventh, it looked like all hope was lost for New York. However, Jose Peraza came up and hit a clutch home run to make it a tie game once again. This was Hader’s first bl0wn save of the year. Edwin Diaz came in for the eighth and struggled. With the bases loaded, Diaz hit Christian Yelich with a pitch to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead. It wouldn’t matter though, in the bottom half of that inning, Jeff McNeil hit a walk-off single that brought in two runs. The final score was 4-3.
Robert Stock made his Mets debut in game two vs Brett Anderson. Stock faced the Mets in June as a member of the Chicago Cubs. His only mistake through four innings was a Manny Pina two-run home run in the top of the second. The Brewers ended up scoring three more runs throughout the game, but it wouldn’t matter as the Mets barely put the bat on the ball. The final score was 5-0.
Friday’s Game
The New York Mets started a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday in their final series before the All-Star break. Taijuan Walker faced off against JT Brubaker. The Pirates quickly got on the board in the top of the second when Michael Perez got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in a run. The Mets came back quickly though, in the bottom of the third Jonathan Villar hit a solo home run to tie the game up.
Brandon Nimmo put the Mets on top in the same inning, with a double to make it a 2-1 ballgame. The Pirates would tie it back up in the top of the fifth, but after that, the game belonged to the Mets. The offense exploded in the bottom of the sixth, it was a 10 run inning capped off by a Francisco Lindor grand slam. Needless to say, that would be all the runs the Mets needed. The final score was 13-4.
New York Mets Weekend
Marcus Stroman took on Tyler Anderson in the first game of the twin-bill. Kevin Pillar gave the Mets an early lead on a single in the first inning. Stroman cruised through the next couple innings but struggled in the fourth. John Nogowski doubled to bring in two runs. The Mets would tie it up in the bottom half of the fourth, but they wouldn’t regain the lead for the rest of the game. The bullpen struggled, and the bats couldn’t get anything going. The final score was 6-2. In the second game, Tylor Megill took the mound against Max Kranick.
The Mets gave Megill an early lead, in the bottom of the first Jeff McNeil doubled to score two runs. Bryan Reynolds singled in a run in Megill’s final inning. Megill’s pitch count was high, so he was taken out after three and two-thirds innings. Keep in mind this is only a seven-inning game, so three and two-thirds isn’t bad. Pete Alonso added to the Mets lead in the bottom of the third with a solo home run. The Mets wouldn’t lose this lead for the rest of the game. Edwin Diaz came in for the save and quickly ended the game. The final score was 4-2.
Sunday’s Loss
The final game of the series was a bullpen game for the Mets, so Aaron Loup got the start. Chase De Jong got the start for Pittsburgh. The Mets had a big first inning, scoring five runs off of a pair of home runs hit by Francisco Lindor and Michael Conforto. These were the only runs the Mets would score all day, which proved to be a problem. The Pirates slowly came back inning by inning, until the ninth when they got the lead. After De Jong left the game, the Mets only got four hits, none of which turned into runs. The offense isn’t solely at fault though, Luis Rojas‘ bullpen management was questionable. Miguel Castro and Edwin Diaz were left in for too long, which gave the Pirates the opportunity to come back. The final score was 6-5.
New York Mets State of Mind
It’s no secret that the Mets bats have struggled recently. At times they’ll have good innings, but for the most part, they’ve been sluggish. They’ve already fired the hitting coach, so why is this happening, and what can they do to fix it? It could have something to do with their approach at the plate. The one consistent hitter in this lineup has been Brandon Nimmo, who is known for his eye at the plate. Lately, he’s been the best hitter in the lineup, by far. If others in the lineup took the same approach as Nimmo, perhaps they will get better pitches to hit, instead of breaking balls that miss their bats.
The other option to improve the offense is adding new personnel. Both Kris Bryant and Trevor Story have been rumored to be traded at the deadline and would be welcome additions on this Mets team. Regardless of what route they choose, changes need to be made. Be on the lookout for the next New York Mets week in review article as they will come out for the rest of this season.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Tylor Megill, Brandon Woodruff, Omar Narvaez, Dominic Smith, Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Edwin Diaz, Jacob deGrom, Corbin Burnes, Luis Urias, Francisco Lindor, Jace Peterson, Josh Hader, Jose Peraza, Christian Yelich, Jeff McNeil, Robert Stock, Brett Anderson, Manny Pina, Taijuan Walker, JT Brubaker, Michael Perez, Brandon Nimmo, Jonathan Villar, Marcus Stroman, Tyler Anderson, Kevin Pillar, John Nogowski, Max Kranick, Bryan Reynolds, Aaron Loup, Chase De Jong, Miguel Castro, Kris Bryant, Trevor Story
