Just one short week ago the Mets had lost 2 straight to The Padres and many of those who told us all the Mets could not beat elite teams were crowing that they were right. 7 days later the Mets have won 5 of 6 games including 4 against those same Padres and like I have been telling you all year this Met team is a special group of players.
One of those special players is Marcus Stroman who is part of the special trio of Met starting pitchers–Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker and the aforementioned Stroman, This trio has a combined 1.67 ERA over 35 starts this season and that is off the charts. It is a big reason why the Mets claim the top spot in the NL East. They now lead the Phils by 4 games and the Braves by 6 games and the loss column lead versus those 2 teams is 7 versus the Phils and 9 versus the Braves. As for the Nationals they trail the Mets by 10 in the loss column.
Luis Rojas put it best about Stroman after the game when he said, “His stuff is unbelievable and that is why he keeps hitters off balance forcing them to merely tap it because he has that great sinking movement.” He improved his record to 6-4 with a 2.32 ERA and it is my sincere belief all three of those hurlers-Stroman, Walker and deGrom are headed for All-Star status.
Pitching has put them there for this team but the offense is starting to heat up as well with the poster child for that being Francisco Lindor who smashed a 2 run homer to get the offense going on Saturday which was his third homer in the past 13 games with him showing that his early season slump is way in his rear view mirror.
Another big reason for this team’s spot in the NL East penthouse is Edwin Diaz who earned his 12th save of the season in his typical dominating fashion striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. for the second consecutive game. It may be time to start re-evaluating the trade that brought Diaz to Queens and start giving Brodie Van Wagenen some credit for seeing the talent in the right arm of Diaz. I know most critics of the trade have Jarred Kelenic in the Hall of Fame and I think he will have a good career but in Diaz the Mets have a pitcher who may end up being the best closer in franchise history. I was laughed at for saying that last year but possibly people should listen to me when I speak about baseball.
This Met team has a group of special players that care about each other as much as they care about themselves. And Luis Rojas has managed this group in award winning fashion which is why in mid-June this is CLEARLY the best team in the NL East and maybe the best in the entire league. The Padres thought they had the Mets under control but after 4 straight losses to them, maybe it is time for the so-called experts to recognize that a historic Met season is upon us no matter what those experts who already wrote the narrative on this team have to say. This team does what it takes to win and a 17-5 record at home illustrates that CitiField is now a den that opposing teams will hate to visit. Most already do.