Fast starts are nothing new for the New York Mets, who have made a habit of getting off to quick starts over the past several years. The issue has been sustaining those starts, with hot Aprils slowly fading into irrelevance by the start of the summer. 2022 looks to be different, however, as the Mets performed even better in May than they did in April, going 19-10 over 29 games to extend their National League East lead to 10.5 games over the Atlanta Braves.
The Mets did manage to lose a pair of series in May, dropping two out of three against the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants, and split another but secured victories in another six. The most dramatic moment of the month came on May 5, when they rallied from a 7-1 deficit in the ninth inning to stun the Philadelphia Phillies with an 8-7 victory that served as a catalyst for the Mets. May ended with the Mets on a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season, as the offense caught fire after a slow start to the season.
The Mets also dealt with more injuries in May as they lost Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill in the starting rotation, James McCann in the lineup, and Trevor May in the bullpen. Injuries have crushed the Mets in the past but this team has better depth, allowing them to withstand the losses of some key personnel while expanding their lead in the National League East.
The Mets got plenty of strong performances in May, particularly on the offensive side. Luis Guillorme played his way into the starting lineup by the end of the month, batting .414 with a home run and six RBIs to serve as a sparkplug for the offense. Other notable hitters included Starling Marte (.340/4 HR/16 RBI), Pete Alonso (.315/9/30), Jeff McNeil (.311/2/17) and Branon Nimmo (.309/0/10).
The standout on the pitching side was Carlos Carrasco, who went 4-0 with a 3.60 ERA in five starts, while Scherzer was 2-1 with a 3.28 ERA in four starts before hurting his oblique. The bullpen also got a solid performance out of Edwin Diaz, who recorded seven saves while pitching to a 3.38 ERA and striking out 21 batters in 10.2 innings pitched while Joely Rodriguez (2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched), Trevor Williams (1-1, 2.63 ERA in 24 innings pitched) and Colin Holderman (0.96 ERA in seven appearances) made positive contributions.
The Mets have done an excellent job building themselves a huge cushion and it should pay dividends as they face a challenging stretch to begin June. After completing their series with the Washington Nationals this afternoon, the Mets hit the road for a 10-game West Coast trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. That stretch is then followed by a visit from the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, putting together a 13-game stretch that should be a stiff test for a Mets team that won’t have deGrom or Scherzer for any of those games. The rest of the month also sees the Mets meet up with the Miami Marlins for the first time and play a pair of two-game sets against the AL West-leading Houston Astros, adding even more difficulty to the schedule.
The Mets have 25 games on tap for June and going 15-10 against this challenging stretch would be a big win for them. Doing that would put the Mets at 44-27 heading into July, which should still be strong enough to maintain their lead in the division with the most challenging stretch of their schedule behind them. Past Mets’ teams have swooned in June but this group seems like it has enough to weather this challenge and even thrive.
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