3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Stumble In Baltimore

Euphoric highs turned into crushing lows for the New York Mets in Baltimore.

After perhaps the most thrilling win of the year in the opener, the Mets were swept by the Orioles in their doubleheader on Thursday. Poor pitching, zero offense and some questionable decisions all hurt New York.

What makes this series loss all the more frustrating is that it appeared as though the Mets had turned a corner as of late. Instead, all of the momentum from the recent turnaround has now gone.

The Mets have just three games left before the break to get that momentum back.

On that note, let’s proceed with the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

COMEBACK KINGS

Okay, so Tuesday’s win counts for little now. But, with that said, we did see just what the top of the lineup is capable of. In what was the biggest comeback win of the year, the “Fab Four” came out swinging. Both Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso hit two-run shots in the eighth to make it a 6-6 game. Remember, the Mets had been staring at a 6-2 deficit. Then, in the 10th inning, Juan Soto came up with the clutch go-ahead run on a single. Brandon Nimmo also went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. The series opener highlighted just how explosive the big boys can be. Now, they just need to be more consistent.

HERO BALL

Huascar Brazobán has been hit and miss as of late. However, he emerged as the hero on Tuesday. Armed with a lead thanks to his offense, Brazobán delivered a shutdown inning with one strikeout to secure the win. It was the right-hander’s second save of the year. Everyone was needed in Tuesday’s win, and Brazobán certainly played his part to perfection.

HE’S AN ALL-STAR, DAVE

To borrow a famous line from Moneyball, David Peterson is an All-Star, Dave. The left-hander was named as a replacement for the All-Star Game moments after delivering yet another stellar start. Peterson allowed just one run over seven innings, while striking out six in Game 1 of the doubleheader. He more than did his job, and departed the game with the lead intact. What happened after just further highlighted how valuable Peterson has been to the Mets so far in 2025. He’s been lights out, and he deserves his trip to Atlanta.

3 DOWN

BULLPEN OVERUSE 

Who else is sick and tired of bullpen games? Yeah, I thought so. Man, when is it enough? The Mets have now gone with a bullpen game in three of their last six contests. The strategy acted essentially as a punt game against the Yankees on Sunday, which cost the Mets a series sweep, and it also cost them a series against the Orioles. The fact that both Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean have dominated in the minors this week just adds insult to injury. At some point, Sproat and McLean should be called up. Yes, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga are set to make their respective returns this weekend. But, with Clay Holmes needing to be managed, more rotation depth is needed. And why not call-up prospects like Sproat and McLean? They need to be given a chance at some point.

Furthermore, employing the bullpen game is a strategy that clearly isn’t working for this team. It is only serving to put more stress on this group of relievers, while the offense can’t be expected to come from behind constantly. The Mets have dropped two games this week because of the bullpen game, and it has to stop.

SECOND GUESSING

It is easy to play Monday Morning Quarterback when it comes to certain decisions a manager makes. Of course we all think we know best. However, it was hard to defend manager Carlos Mendoza after his costly decision in Game 1 of the doubleheader on Thursday. Peterson was in his groove, and the Mets had a 1-0 lead. He came back out for the eighth, but was pulled after giving up a hit. The end result? Ryne Stanek entered the game and quickly gave up the lead, sealing his team’s fate in the process.

Again, it is easy to second guess managers. But, with that said, Mendoza should have allowed Peterson to finish the job in the eighth. Or, instead, he should have given the ball to Stanek to start the inning.

COMING UP EMPTY

Want one stat that sums up the Mets’ day on Thursday? How about the fact they went a combined 2-for-19 with RISP across both games of the doubleheader. Or, the fact they scored four runs in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game, but then just seven runs in the other 25 innings of this series. Yes, the offense was as much as to blame for the doubleheader implosion as bad pitching was. It didn’t help that Juan Soto and Pete Alonso went a combined 0-for-12 in the doubleheader. New York also managed a total of just 10 hits in the two games on Thursday.

A lineup with this much firepower can’t be this inconsistent. And a lineup with this much top-tier talent can’t continue to come up empty in clutch situations. Unless something gets fixed, the RISP problem could cost this team a chance at doing something special this year.

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