CHICAGO — In a three-game sweep over the historically bad Chicago White Sox, the New York Mets showed a different level of resolve. Veterans acknowledged before the weekend that such games against poor clubs in lightly-attended stadiums at the end of long road trips can present a mental challenge. After playing back-to-back, drama-filled series against the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, two teams ahead of them in the wild-card standings, it would have been easy for the Mets to lose some focus, take things for granted.
Instead, the Mets handled the assignment.
“Everybody knew that we had a task in front of us,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the Mets’ 2-0 win Sunday, “and we had to take care of business.”
After winning their fourth-straight game, the Mets (73-64) moved to within 1 1/2 games of the Atlanta Braves for the final playoff spot. After a 7-3 road trip, the Mets will host the Boston Red Sox, a team fighting to stay relevant in the American League’s wild-card picture, for three games starting Monday. Indeed, the road gets tougher from here for the Mets, with 16 of the remaining 25 games coming against teams with winning records.
Here are three takeaways from the sweep.
Sean Manaea looks like the Mets’ ace
After Manaea watched the ball land in left fielder Jesse Winker’s glove for the final out of the seventh inning, he blew a kiss toward the stands where his family filled up sections and then exhaled deeply.
“That was huge,” Manaea said.
7 shutout innings for Sean Manaea! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/glTTzxZQl5
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2024
He had just ended another stellar outing by escaping the only trouble — runners on first and third with two outs — he encountered throughout his seven scoreless innings of work. Manaea allowed just two hits and two walks. He struck out five. His season ERA dropped to 3.35. It marked the fifth time over Manaea’s past seven starts that he completed at least seven innings.
This time looked a little different, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Perhaps Manaea wanted to match White Sox starter Garrett Crochet, Mendoza surmised. Crochet struck out the first seven batters and didn’t allow anything until Francisco Lindor started the fourth inning with a solo home run. Manaea wasn’t as electric, but was economical and completely overmatched the White Sox (31-107). In a continuation of mostly dominant performances ever since switching his arm slot last month, Manaea prevented the White Sox from reaching base until issuing a walk with two outs in the fourth inning. He gave up his first hit an inning later. He needed just 96 pitches and threw 60 strikes.
Mendoza saw a different demeanor in Manaea, especially during the first few innings.
“It was kind of like, ‘Give me the ball,’” Mendoza said. “He stayed on the attack.”
Manaea pitched aggressively and utilized his sinker a whopping 67 percent of the time — the most he has thrown a single pitch in a game all season. The reason was simple. Manaea said he decided to stick with the sinker until the White Sox did something against it. They never really did.
While the Mets have received strong seasons from Luis Severino and David Peterson, it’s Manaea who has emerged as the Mets’ No. 1 pitcher. After Sunday’s game, Mendoza said that’s the way he has come to view Manaea: as an ace.
“I know Sevy is throwing the ball well, but I saw something different today out of Manaea,” Mendoza said. “When he’s going against one of the better arms in the league, he showed us something today where it was, ‘I’m going to give you guys a chance.’ He’s been doing that.”
Edwin Díaz’s usage has increased, and that’s expected to continue
Pitching for the fourth time in the past five games, Díaz struck out the side Sunday to earn the save. He was off on Saturday. On Friday, because he had warmed up to the point where he was going to be unavailable the next day anyway, he pitched the final inning of a 5-1 win, appearing three days in a row for the first time this season. In the final month of the season, the Mets will continue to frequently use Díaz. He has pitched in just 42 games in part because of time on the injured list, a run of poor performance and a suspension but also because of somewhat of a mindful approach to his usage earlier in the year.
“That’s why we protected him throughout the whole year,” Mendoza said. “Coming off a year where he was out the whole year, the way he is throwing the ball, how he’s bouncing back, there’s a reason why we did it early on. And now, it’s go time.”
Edwin Díaz setting up Sliders away with Fastballs up/in. pic.twitter.com/8XBSmqOi5p
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 1, 2024
After blowing the game on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Díaz has bounced back with a save the next day in Arizona and dominance in Chicago. He was not the only one who feasted off the weak foes. The Mets’ bullpen against the White Sox: 9 2/3 innings, one run (allowed by José Buttó), three hits (all allowed by Buttó) and no walks. The Mets will not continue to face a lineup that features nine sub-.700 OPS values. But inside the strong performance, Reed Garrett’s two sharp and economical outings stand out, considering some of his command woes. If Díaz stays locked in, he and Phil Maton present a solid back-end combination, but the Mets need Buttó and Garrett to also offer competent help.
The Mets will stick with Francisco Alvarez but need more from him
Alvarez’s walk-off home run against the Baltimore Orioles failed to pull him out of a slump that has dragged on since around the All-Star break. He hasn’t had a multi-hit game since Aug. 7. In two starts against the White Sox, Alvarez went 1-for-8 with two strikeouts. His OPS has dipped to .664; for the second half, it stands at .419.
Despite the woes (Alvarez also had a passed ball on Saturday), Mendoza said he is not considering a change to the Mets’ catching situation, where Alvarez is the starter and Luis Torrens is a solid backup. Torrens’ bat has also cooled from his hot start with the club, but he offers strong defense — he threw out Luis Robert Jr. trying to steal second base for the first out of the seventh inning on Sunday.
“Alvarez is our guy,” Mendoza said on Saturday. “Louie has done a hell of a job, but Alvarez is our guy.”
Getting more out of Alvarez would deepen the Mets’ lineup. Even though they struck out 16 times Sunday — a season-high, besting the previous high of 14 — the Mets received enough contributions from a host of others throughout the series to take care of the White Sox. Against better teams, though, they will certainly need more.
(Photo of Sean Manaea: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images)
