Welcome to the fourth edition of Monday Stat Party, a weekly series celebrating the most intriguing statistical developments from the past week of Mets games (and ignoring whatever catastrophic ramifications those games might have for the team’s playoff chances). This week, we explore an eerie case of go-ahead, inside-the-park deja vu, make an unfortunate stop in Slam Diego, and encounter the one Met-killer more powerful than Harrison Bader. We also see the fall of one 1999 Mets record, with another
soon to follow. So without further ado, let the stat party begin…
TUESDAY
With his two-run double in the bottom of the first inning, Jeff McNeil recorded his 186th RBI at Citi Field. That ties him with Michael Conforto for sixth on the Citi Field RBI leaderboard, behind Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, David Wright, Francisco Lindor, and Daniel Murphy, with the latter recording 25 of those as a visiting player.
The Mets hit four home runs in a single game for the 13th time this season, overtaking the previous franchise record of 12 such games set in 2019. The Mets then hit four home runs again the following night, extending their new record to 14 and reaching another unique mark…
WEDNESDAY
The Mets hit four home runs on a second consecutive day for just the ninth time in franchise history, and the second time this season (after doing so on August 29 and August 30). 2005 and 2016 are the only other years when the Mets hit four home runs on back-to-back days multiple times over the course of a single season.
Manny Machado’s grand slam marked the Padres’ third go-ahead grand slam at Citi Field. No other opponent has had more since Citi Field opened. It’s an apt stat for a squad nicknamed “Slam Diego,” and a franchise which kicked off the ballpark’s inaugural game with a leadoff homer sixteen years ago.
With a 2-for-4 day at the plate, Luis Arráez continued to absolutely annihilate Met pitching. Since his major league debut in 2019, Arraez now has a .417 batting average against the Amazins — easily the best mark among hitters with at least 50 qualifying at-bats in that span, with ex-Met Harrison Bader (.357) trailing far behind.
THURSDAY
After getting tagged for six runs without making it out of the first inning during his previous outing against Texas, Jonah Tong bounced back by twirling five shutout innings. Only one other pitcher in Mets history has thrown at least five scoreless innings one start after allowing six runs in less than an inning of work: current Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, in September 2012. I guess you could say Tong learned from the best.
Pete Alonso homered in a fourth straight game for the third time in his career. Only one other Met prior to Alonso had homered in four straight games on even two separate occasions: Mike Piazza, in May 1999 and August 1999.
Juan Soto recorded his 100th RBI of the season, making 2025 the seventh season in franchise history that the Mets have had multiple players (Soto and Alonso) eclipse the 100-RBI mark. Bernard Gilkey and Todd Hundley were the first to do it in 1996, while Alonso and Francisco Lindor had done it most recently in 2022.
With his fifth-inning double, Soto also became the third Met this season to reach 60 extra-base hits, along with Alonso and Lindor. It’s the ninth time in franchise history that the Mets have had a trio of players reach 60 extra-base hits in the same season.
FRIDAY
Friday night’s contest marked Pete Alonso’s 1000th career game. Only twelve players have logged 1000 games with the Mets: Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, Ed Kranepool, Mookie Wilson, Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson, Edgardo Alfonzo, David Wright, José Reyes, Brandon Nimmo, and now Alonso.
Francisco Lindor recorded his 20th three-hit game of the season. Lance Johnson holds the franchise record with 24 three-hit games in 1996, while Lindor is now tied with José Reyes — who recorded 20 three-hit games in 2006 — for second place on that leaderboard.
SATURDAY
Daylen Lile hit the first go-ahead, inside-the-park home run the Mets have allowed (not counting Game 1 of the 2015 World Series) since August 28, 2015, when Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart deposited a Carlos Torres fastball over the head of Juan Lagares in the top of the tenth inning at Citi Field. There must be something about extra-inning, go-ahead, inside-the-park home runs to center field that left-handed rookies from last-place teams find especially tantalizing in Queens.
Nolan McLean’s 1.27 ERA over his first seven career starts is tied with Phil Niekro for the fourth-best mark since integration among pitchers who averaged at least six innings pitched per start. Only Fernando Valenzuela, Jered Weaver, and Steve Rogers have fared better.
By the end of Saturday’s game, McLean held a 1.10 ERA over his past three starts without receiving a win in any of them. The last Met to have a winless three-start span with an ERA that low (and a minimum of five total innings pitched) was Jacob deGrom, who recorded a 0.95 ERA while going 0-1 from August 19, 2020, to August 31, 2020.
The Mets lost a third game this season in which they left 13 men on base. 2013 was the last time the Mets lost three games with 13 LOB in a single season, including a 20-inning 2-1 loss against the Marlins at Citi Field.
SUNDAY
Juan Soto drew multiple walks for the 28th time this season, tying Keith Hernandez’s club record set in 1986 for most multi-walk games in a single season. Soto now sits just two walks away from tying John Olerud’s single-season franchise record of 125 walks, set in 1999.
Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:
Only one player in Mets history has hit a triple in three consecutive starts: Travis d’Arnaud, who did so on September 20, 2014, September 23, 2014, and April 6, 2015. Those three straight starts account for half of the triples d’Arnaud has hit over the course of his 13-year major league career.
