The New York Mets (22-33) welcome the Miami Marlins (26-31) to Citi Field, one week after Miami swept New York down at loanDepot Park. Miami promptly went out and lost two out of three to the Blue Jays, much like how the Mets lost two of three to the Reds following the sweep.
The Mets ended up dropping the next two games after getting swept, falling by an identical 7-2 score on Monday and 7-2 on Tuesday. Even weirder still, both games had the same score and the same time of game (2:56). They did rebound
to win, mercifully, by a 4-2 score on Wednesday, which halted their five-game skid. The win was primarily aided by the Reds’ inability to bring home runners, as they stranded a small army (17 in total) on the base paths. Despite having runners on base in every single inning, the Mets held Cincinnati to two runs on the evening, and the pitching, which was essentially a bullpen game with Jonah Tong serving as the bulk arm, did just enough to secure a win.
The offense scored eight runs across the three games, which feels like an embarrassment of riches compared to the two runs they scored last weekend in Miami, but it’s hardly enough to consider the offense “back”. Meanwhile, the pitching faltered in each of the first two games, first with Nolan McLean getting knocked around for a second straight start, and then with David Peterson reverting back to his struggles after some encouraging outings earlier in the month. Speaking of Peterson, he made a mental lapse in the field which was the topic of much conversation in the booth, and with some starting to question whether apathy is setting in for a group that appears to be going nowhere fast.
Carson Benge, who struggled so mightily in April, continues to emerge as a might spot in another relatively dim month for the Mets—this is again probably an overreaction given that the team is hovering around .500 this month, but still hardly well enough to be celebrated. Benge has the second-highest wRC+ (122) and second-best fWAR (0.6) among Mets hitters this month, trailing just Juan Soto in both categories. The rookie contributed two run-scoring hits on Thursday, which ended up being the difference, as the only other runs the Mets could muster came on solo shots from the aforementioned Soto and the newly-acquired Eric Wagaman. Benge is also second on the team in runs scored this month with 16 (again, behind Soto) and third in runs batted in with 14, trailing Soto (16) and Mark Vientos (15). He leads all Mets qualified hitters this month with a .302 average.
But two of the veterans the team acquired in the offseason continue to be hugely problematic on offense. Bo Bichette, who has shown some glimpses of turning it around, is still hitting .218/.275/.317 with a 72 wRC+ and a 0.1 fWAR in May. Meanwhile, Marcus Semien, who did homer in Monday’s loss, has done little else, hitting .207/.250/.326 with a 63 wRC+ and a -0.2 fWAR for the month. For the Mets to have any shot of digging themselves out of their early-season hole, they will need much more production from these two bats, specifically Bichette, who was brought in for his offense.
The Mets got to enjoy something yesterday that they haven’t enjoyed since May 11: a day off and some extra rest. The last time the Mets had a day off, the Knicks had just wrapped up a sweep of the 76ers on the previous day and were beginning their eight days of rest before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals. In any event, the Mets played a marathon stretch that took them through a homestand against the Tigers and Yankees, back onto the road against the Nationals and Marlins, and then back home again to face the Reds. The stretch encompassed their jubilant 5-1 homestand, their demoralizing 2-5 road trip, and their uneven series loss this week. This is just the second (and final) day off of the month, but it could prove to give them a bit of a boost as they prepare for one final home series before heading back out west to take on the Mariners.
Friday, May 29: Freddy Peralta vs. Max Meyer, 7:10 PM EDT on WPIX
Peralta (2026): 61.1 IP. 63 K, 27 BB, 8 HR, 3.52 ERA, 4.13 IP, 91 ERA-
Peralta endured his strangest start as a Met. He allowed a season-high eight hits and matched his season-worst by allowing four earned runs and two home runs (both on Opening Day). However, he completed seven innings for the first time as a Met, struck out a season-high nine and walked just two batters after walking a season-high six in his prior outing. All that said, he still endured a loss to the Marlins, his fourth in a Mets uniform. It wouldn’t have mattered much anyway, as the offense was only able to push one run across.
Meyer (2026): 60.2 IP, 68 K, 22 BB, 4 HR, 2.52 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 62 ERA-
Meyer had no problem handling the Mets his last time out. He hurled seven shutout innings against New York, allowing just one hit and walking three while striking out eight. He has now tossed 13 scoreless innings across his last two starts, and has earned a win in his last three starts and four of five outings in May. For the month, he has posted a 1.76 ERA and a 2.71 FIP in 30 2/3 innings. He has struck out 35 and is limiting hitters to a .168/.246/.271 slash line.
Saturday, May 30: Christian Scott vs. Tyler Phillips, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY
Scott (2026): 25.1 IP, 30 K, 14 BB, 1 HR, 3.20 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 82 ERA-
Scott is coming off his best start of the young season, and his best since coming back from Tommy John Surgery. The right-hander pitched into the sixth inning for the first time all year, throwing 5 2/3 innings against Miami. He held the Marlins off the board, scattering four hits while walking two and striking out five. It was his first time holding an opponent scoreless in 15 major league appearances, meaning that the 26-year-old could be turning a corner after struggling across much of the early part of this year. It’s a sorely-needed development for the Mets, who need all the help they can get on the starting pitching front.
Phillips (2026): 33.2 IP, 31 K, 18 BB, 1 HR, 1.07 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 26 ERA-
Phillips started the year off as a reliever but has transitioned to the rotation in recent weeks. This will be just his second start of the season. His first one went well, as he limited the Mets to just two hits over 3 2/3 shutout innings. He walked two, struck out four, and tossed a season-high 59 pitches. It was his longest outing of the year, though he has gone three innings on four separate occasions in relief. It’s likely he’ll be stretched out enough to go four, and maybe a little further depending on pitch count, but he likely won’t go much further than 60-70 pitches. He has only allowed a run in five of his 16 outings this year.
Sunday, May 31: Nolan McLean vs. Janson Junk, 1:40 PM EDT on SNY
McLean (2026):61.1 IP, 75 K, 19 BB, 8 HR, 4.40 ERA, 3.59 FIP, 113 ERA-
The last two starts have been a disaster for McLean. After allowing 19 runs in his first nine starts, he allowed 16 runs over his last two outings, which drove his ERA up from 2.92 to 4.40. His last time out started on a promising note, with the right-hander striking out the side in the first. However, it quickly devolved from there, and he only lasted 3 1/3 innings, the shortest outing of his major league career. He ended up being tagged for even earned runs (his season high) on five hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. He also allowed two home runs for the second consecutive start and has allowed six over his last four appearances after serving up just two in his first seven starts. For whatever little hope the Mets have of getting back into the playoff race, they will need McLean to be more like the 2025 version and less like what they’ve seen the last two times out.
Junk (2026): 60.0 IP, 43 K, 13 BB, 8 HR, 4.80 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 118 ERA-
Junk had a nice bounce back outing after suffering two really bad starts in a row against the Rays (5 2/3 innings, seven earned runs, ten hits, three walks, four strikeouts, two home runs) and the Braves (five innings, eight earned runs, eight hits, three strikeouts, zero walks, two home runs), both of which resulted in losses. Against the Blue Jays, he went five innings and allowed just one earned run on eight hits while striking out three and not issuing a walk. It was an encouraging outing and got the right-hander back in the win column after his recent string of losses. Surprisingly, the Mets did not see Junk at any point last year while pitching for the Marlins and in fact this will be his first regular season appearance against the Amazins.
