MLB’s beauty lies in its unpredictability, which has been on full display during the Mets and Braves series this week in New York. On Tuesday, it was all Mets, who won by eight runs. Pete Alonso also etched his name into the history books in the same game.
“The ‘Polar Bear’ launched his 253rd career home run on Tuesday night to break the tie he was in with Darryl Strawberry for most homers in Mets history. Alonso, the 30-year-old first baseman in his seventh season, accomplished the feat in his 965th game with the Mets. Strawberry played 1,109 games with the Mets over eight seasons,” wrote USA Today’s Jace Evans.
Wednesday and Thursday told a different story, as the Mets blew leads in two consecutive games.
“The free-falling New York Mets suffered what might have been their worst loss of the season (so far?) on Wednesday night, Aug. 13, when they blew a six-run lead and fell to the Atlanta Braves 11-6,” USA Today’s Steve Gardner wrote.
“After reeling off a seven-game winning streak from July 20-27, the Mets have now lost 12 of their past 14 games and have gone from leading the National League East division by 1½ games to trailing the first-place Philadelphia Phillies by 5.”
Thursday night was much the same, as the Mets held a one-run lead going into the eighth inning before Ryan Helsley blew the lead for the second time in a week. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza explained what’s going wrong with his pitching.
“The fastball is getting hit and [it’s] a plus-plus fastball, but he is leaving that slider up in the strike zone. That’s the big difference for me,” Mendoza said.
“You see that pitch today to Harris. It was a slider. They are going to get ready for 100 mph and then that slider staying right there in the middle of the zone, good hitters are going to make you pay for it.”
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The Mets find themselves in a less-than-ideal spot as the playoffs draw nearer. The Braves are one of the worst teams in baseball this season, so failing to win the series is uninspiring. Helsley is usually a reliable bullpen arm, but right now he’s in a slump. He needs to fix his slider before it costs the team a spot in the postseason.
