2 Up, 4 Down: Slumping Mets Collapse In Philly

We appear to be on the brink of the 2025 season for the New York Mets.

Mired in yet another alarming slump, the Mets were easily swept aside by the Philadelphia Phillies in a four-game sweep. As a result, New York has now lost six-straight games.

Consequently, the Mets are all but dead in the race for the NL East with the Phillies a full 11 games ahead. Furthermore, the Mets are just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

All in all, the Mets are seeing their chances of making the playoffs drop by the day. And, even if this team were to make the postseason, they look like the exact opposite of a World Series contender.

On that note, let’s recap all the bad and all the ugly from a week to forget. Let’s proceed with a one-off edition of 2 Up, 4 Down…

2 UP 

STAR IN THE MAKING

Nolan McLean is arguably one of only two bright spots for the Mets right now. We’ll get to the other one shortly. For now, McLean continues to impress. The rookie gave up just one run over 5.1 innings while striking five and walking three on Monday. McLean did his job and gave his team every chance to win. Sadly, the offense couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. However, McLean now owns a stellar 1.42 ERA and continues to look like a potential future workhorse.

ELITE SUPERSTAR 

Time for the second and final bright spot as it pertains to the Mets. Juan Soto is playing at the superstar level he’s been used to his entire career. The elite hitter has been the only real constant for this offense, and he was the only real threat in this series. Soto reached base in all four games, going a combined 5-for-16 with five runs scored and two RBIs. He’s hitting .357/.419/.643/.1.062 with two homers, two doubles, five runs scored, four RBIs, three walks and five stolen bases over his last seven games. Furthermore, Soto stole his 30th base of the season during this series, recording his first career 30/30 campaign. He also became just the fifth Met to achieve that milestone. All in all, Soto is everything the Mets need him to be right now.

4 DOWN

ALL-TIME LOW

Right, time now for the negatives. The Mets seem to be hitting new lows almost every week, and the Phillies series will go down as one of the lowest. Not only were the Mets swept, but they didn’t put up a fight in any of the four games. In fact, this team looked non-competitive and didn’t have a pulse. More concerning is the fact that this team just didn’t play with any urgency in Philadelphia. That’s despite the fact that a playoff spot is far from guaranteed. Sure, the starting pitching stinks right now, the bullpen is a mess and the offense is just way too hot and cold. However, with all that said, the lack of fight, heart and hustle is a really troubling sign. Something just seems off with this current group.

FALLING STARS

As we’ve already mentioned, the Mets are getting little offensive production outside of Soto. That includes from the other three members of the so-called “Fab Four.” Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo went a combined 7-for-46 with just one extra-base hit in four games against Philadelphia. That just isn’t good enough. Furthermore, over their last seven games, Lindor is hitting .208/.367/.333/.700, Nimmo is slashing just .160/.207/.160/.367 and Alonso is hitting .179/.233/.250/.483. The top of the lineup should be absolutely mashing this time of year. But, outside of Soto, that just isn’t happening. The Mets’ big-time players are shrinking on the biggest stage.

UNWANTED HISTORY

Thursday was the embarrassing icing on top of the embarrassing cake for the Mets. After scoring four or more runs in the first inning, the Mets then failed to have a single player reach base the rest of the game. That’s the first time that has happened in the modern era, per OPTA Stats. If that isn’t embarrassing, then I don’t know what is. But that also sums up everything wrong with this team right now. Even when things are going good, they aren’t sustainable. The Mets built a big lead early but couldn’t hold on, instead collapsing to a humiliating defeat while not putting up any single resistance. Whatever the opposite of clutch is, this team is its very definition.

PITCHING HOUSE OF HORRORS 

Pitching was a total nightmare across the board for New York in this series. Outside of Nolan McLean, the starting pitching was not good. Sean Manaea allowed four earned runs and lasted just five innings on Tuesday. Clay Holmes also gave up four earned runs in his outing on Wednesday. Then, in Thursday’s series finale, David Peterson allowed three earned runs on seven hits while lasting just five innings. We’re in September and the Mets still aren’t getting length from their veteran starters. Even Peterson has regressed in that area as his struggles continue. As for the bullpen, the unit was hardly effective outside of Monday’s game. Reed Garrett allowed three earned runs and gave up the lead in Thursday’s game. All in all, pitching is just a non-factor for the Mets right now. Outside of the rookies, obviously.

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