Mets’ Offense Stifled in Series Loss to Cardinals

The Mets dropped their April Fools Day contest to the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1. If you’re keeping count, that’s the third extra-innings game out of six to start the season, something that hasn’t happened since the 1980s. So, that’s interesting.

Wednesday afternoon was gloomy to begin with, as overcast skies turned to showers as gametime approached. After an hour-long rain delay, the game got underway, and, as has become the theme to start this year, Mets pitching threw a gem. Freddy Peralta tossed 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball before Huascar Brazobán allowed an inherited runner to score. The bullpen took over from there and was phenomenal, pitching scoreless frames through the 10th.

Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t muster more than one run, and the orange and blue fell on a bloop walk-off hit in the 11th.

After exploding for eleven runs on Opening Day, the offense has fallen off a cliff, specifically with runners in scoring position. On Tuesday, they went 0-for-6 with runners on. Wednesday? 0-for-11. Their last four games? 3-for-32. That’s a .094 batting average.

Through six games, the Mets have gone 11-for-68 with runners in scoring position, 29th in MLB per MLB.com. They’ve driven in 19 runs in those situations, but that number is heavily inflated by Opening Day. Only the Reds have been worse. The league average sits at .259. The Mets are 66 points below it.

The struggles aren’t limited to situations with men on base, either. The Mets slashed .228/.333/.351 entering Wednesday’s action. 

However, Mets fans, don’t lose hope. It’s April. This is supposed to be the most hopeful time of year. If we compare to previous seasons, struggling with runners during Week 1 is not an unfamiliar sight.

The 2024 Mets, NLCS-bound, started with a .235 average with runners on. The 2015 Mets hit .200 with ducks on the pond. A bad offensive start does not equal a bad offensive finish.

And on the flip side, a hot start doesn’t guarantee anything. The 2023 Mets opened hitting .290 with runners in scoring position. Then the season spiraled.

Juan Soto and Luis Robert Jr. are off to hot starts, both hitting well over .300. Mark Vientos has tallied two hits in his first five plate appearances. Francisco Alvarez has a strong early OPS and is drawing walks for a .375 OBP.

Let’s let some time pass before hitting the panic button about the offensive struggles.

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