{"id":45869,"date":"2022-08-15T09:49:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T09:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/surging-mets-at-top-of-their-game-about-to-get-challenged\/"},"modified":"2022-08-15T09:49:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T09:49:47","slug":"surging-mets-at-top-of-their-game-about-to-get-challenged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/surging-mets-at-top-of-their-game-about-to-get-challenged\/","title":{"rendered":"Surging Mets at top of their game, about to get &#8216;challenged&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>They opened the homestand by bashing the Braves and ended it by stifling the Phillies.  In between, they overmatched the Reds. <\/p>\n<p>The Mets are at the height of their powers.  They shut out the Phillies for the final 18 innings of the series while allowing two runs in total to a loaded lineup, albeit without Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.  They went 9-2 over these last 11 days in Queens, scoring five or more runs nine times while allowing two or fewer in eight of those ballgames.  They have gone 17-3 since dropping the first two following the All-Star break. <\/p>\n<p>They are at the height of their powers. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a real contender,\u201d Chris Bassitt said after tossing five shutout innings on a day when he was anything but picture-perfect.  \u201cNo doubt about it.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Everything seems possible even if this is merely the middle of August.  Now, though, the club embarks on a 10-game road trip beginning Monday that features four in Atlanta, four in Philadelphia and two at Yankee Stadium where the Mets won&#8217;t so much be big-game hunting as being hunted. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know we&#8217;re going to get challenged,\u201d said manager Buck Showalter, whose 75-40 team holds a 5 \u00b9\/\u2082-game lead over the Braves.  \u201cLet&#8217;s line them up, take it one at a time and see what happens. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese guys get it.  They take it day by day with a lot of maturity.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"623\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets075JS.jpg?resize=1024%2C623&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"mets\" class=\"wp-image-23458013\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets075JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets075JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets075JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets075JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>The red-hot Mets are at the height of their powers. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Jason Szenes<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Mets scored 60 runs on the homestand but hit only 10 home runs.  That&#8217;s their way.  They are a contact team and if soft ones drop in, well, that&#8217;s not necessarily lucky, but more so residue of the design to get the bat on the ball.  They strike out less than any team in the NL other than Washington. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTough at-bats,\u201d said Jeff McNeil.  \u201cGood things happen when you put the ball in play.\u201d <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Good things happen when you put the ball in play.  Like base runners.  Equally good things happen when you are alert on the base paths.  Like stealing runs. <\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s what McNeil did in the four-run fourth inning that stretched the lead to 5-0 against Zack Wheeler, scampering home the final 90 feet after initially stopping at third base on James McCann&#8217;s RBI flair that fell in short center but then revving it up again when center fielder Brandon Marsh first overran the ball and then tossed it in rather casually to second baseman Jean Segura, who wasn&#8217;t paying all that much attention. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you get to third, the first thing is to find the ball,\u201d McNeil said.  \u201cWe want to put pressure on the defense and make them throw us out.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Bassitt did not have acute command through this one.  He threw strike one to just 12 of the 21 batters he faced and fell behind 11 of them.  But he had enough to extend his streak to 24 straight innings without allowing an earned run by shutting down the Phils when they had first-and-second with none out in the fourth inning and then in the fifth, when there were men on second and third with no outs. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"692\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets071JS.jpg?resize=1024%2C692&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Jeff McNeil celebrates after scoring in the fourth inning.\" class=\"wp-image-23458012\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets071JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets071JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets071JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets071JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Jeff McNeil celebrates after scoring in the fourth inning. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Jason Szenes<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn&#8217;t panic,\u201d Showalter said of the 33-year-old right-hander who was acquired in March from Oakland in exchange for JT Ginn and Adam Oller.  \u201cHe&#8217;s a pro who loves to compete.  He doesn&#8217;t want to let anybody down.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Over the last eight games of this stretch at Citi Field, Mets starting pitchers allowed seven earned runs in 56 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings for an ERA of 1.11.  Since Max Scherzer came off the IL on July 5, the rotation&#8217;s ERA is 2.10 over the last 35 games. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s no secret how good our pitching staff is,\u201d said Bassitt, whose 3.27 ERA accompanies a 10-7 record.  \u201cIt&#8217;s hard to score on us.  We have five veteran guys who are very good and are capable of putting up a lot of zeroes.  It&#8217;s like passing the baton. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s kind of what we&#8217;re built for.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets052JS.jpg?resize=1024%2C709&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Chris Bassitt reacts during the Mets' win over the Phillies.\" class=\"wp-image-23458011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets052JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets052JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets052JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets052JS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Chris Bassitt reacts during the Mets&#8217; win over the Phillies. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Jason Szenes<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bassitt takes the baton from Jacob deGrom, who takes the baton from Scherzer.  In that way, Bassitt is the Mets&#8217; Claude Osteen, the left-hander who followed Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale in the Dodgers&#8217; rotation in the mid-60s. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s awesome.  I watch greatness every time out,\u201d Bassitt said.  \u201cI have one of the best seats in the house watching them. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody knows Max.  Jake is an alien.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Mets are playing out of this world.  Now they attempt to conquer Atlanta, Philadelphia and The Bronx. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we&#8217;re very shortsighted,\u201d Bassitt said.  \u201cWe&#8217;re not looking ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re not looking behind, either.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They opened the homestand by bashing the Braves and ended it by stifling the Phillies. In between, they overmatched the Reds. The Mets are at the height of their powers. They shut out the Phillies for the final 18 innings of the series while allowing two runs in total to a loaded lineup, albeit without &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/surging-mets-at-top-of-their-game-about-to-get-challenged\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Surging Mets at top of their game, about to get &#8216;challenged&#8217;<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[5566,6051,661,1476,2505,307],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50910,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mets-beat-phillies-behind-pete-alonso-chris-bassitt\/","url_meta":{"origin":45869,"position":0},"title":"Mets beat Phillies behind Pete Alonso, Chris Bassitt","date":"August 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Pete Alonso has been at his best when it matters the most, raising his play when the moment calls for it. After the Mets dropped three of four to the Braves this week, the division matchup against the rising Phillies that began Friday night certainly mattered, and so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Pete Alonso hits a two-run home run against the Phillies during the third inning Friday night in Philadelphia.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/1242599339.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":51160,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mets-chris-bassitt-wins-despite-end-of-scoreless-streak\/","url_meta":{"origin":45869,"position":1},"title":"Mets&#8217; Chris Bassitt wins despite end of scoreless streak","date":"August 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Chris Bassitt's scoreless streak is finished, but his roll in the Mets' rotation is very much intact. The right-hander made it 28 straight innings without allowing an earned run before the Phillies dented him Friday night, but he did not break in the Mets' 7-2 win at Citizens\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Chris Bassitt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/Chris-Bassitt.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45499,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mets-use-blueprint-to-shut-out-phillies-and-win-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":45869,"position":2},"title":"Mets use blueprint to shut out Phillies and win series","date":"August 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"If there was a way to encapsulate the Mets' scintillating season in one game, Sunday afternoon provided the template. Strong pitching. quality defense. Clutch hitting. It wasn't necessarily overwhelming, but the Mets have rarely won that way this year. They've soared to the top of the NL East on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Chris Bassitt looks for a call during the fifth inning at Citi Field on Saturday, Aug.  14, 2022.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets048JS.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13741,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mets-professional-handling-of-braves-spoke-volumes\/","url_meta":{"origin":45869,"position":3},"title":"Mets&#8217; professional handling of Braves spoke volumes","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The important thing to remember is that the players are not nearly as familiar with the baggage as you are. You live through a team's history, suffer through its heartaches, the scars as fresh as the day they were administered. The players are simply passing through, tellers of their own\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"mets","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/1241878778.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9184,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/buck-showalter-on-chris-bassitts-covid-19-testing-comments\/","url_meta":{"origin":45869,"position":4},"title":"Buck Showalter on Chris Bassitt&#8217;s COVID-19 testing comments","date":"July 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Chris Bassitt returned to the mound on Friday night, a day after admitting regret over telling the Mets that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The right-hander said he would \u201cprobably\u201d not make the same decision again in the future, frustrated that he had to sit out a week without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Buck Showalter takes out Chris Bassitt during the seventh inning of the Mets' 5-2 loss to the Marlins.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Buck-Showalter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/081422Mets075JS.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}