Next man up.
That’s been the mentality around this Mets team all season long and it’s never been more on display than over the past few days as star shortstop Francisco Lindor remains sidelined with a lingering back issue amid the National League wild-card race.
The pitching has been spectacular all month, but with their MVP candidate residing on the bench New York’s offense needed someone to step up and provide them with a boost, and this group showed yet again that they were more than up for the challenge.
After dropping two out of three in Philadelphia, the Mets responded by putting together a commanding four-game winning streak with a sweep of the Nationals and a series-opening win over that same Phillies team.
When the Mets needed it the most, Pete Alonso has finally stepped up with one of his signature hot streaks, homering twice and driving in six runs since speaking up at a team meeting on Monday afternoon.
And it’s not just Alonso who has been turning things around, as the majority of the offense, outside of the mightily struggling J.D. Martinez, has been swinging a hot bat since the superstar shortstop went down.
One of the most pleasant surprises of late has been top prospect Luisangel Acuna, who has been playing a strong shortstop while also hitting .421 with two homers and a triple across his first 19 big-league at-bats.
While some may be surprised by the spectacular turnaround after the offense looked so deflated in the innings following Lindor’s departure, president of baseball operations David Stearns certainly isn’t.
“It’s been a continuation of what this group has done all year,” Stearns said. “Whenever someone has gone down, whenever we’ve needed someone to step up, whenever it feels like our back is against the wall someone has stepped up.”
With their continued strong play over the past few weeks, the Mets now find themselves in a tremendous position as they endure a tough final stretch of the regular season.
New York is the hottest team in baseball heading into play on Friday night and they sit tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second wild-card spot and two games up on the Braves for the final slot.
Including tonight, they have three more games with the Phillies before heading to Atlanta for a crucial three-game set and then closing the season with three games against the Milwaukee Brewers.
“This is where you want to be,” Stearns said. “We’re going to enjoy it. It’s going to continue to be a roller coaster, there is never smooth sailing whether it’s now or into October. There are really high highs and heartbreaks as well. We’re at the point in the season where emotions are heightened in both directions and that’s a really good thing.”
