MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Mets hoping win at halfway mark can point them in right direction
MIAMI — Now the Mets can say they are halfway through their latest season in hell.
From an aesthetics standpoint, their 5-2 victory over the Marlins in Game No. 81 was hardly their crispest, but for this beleaguered bunch, it might as well have been a masterpiece.
The Mets (33-48) snapped a threegame losing streak and departed Marlins Park removed from the NL East basement, one game ahead of these maturing Fish.
“The team right now, good spirits in the clubhouse, that is good,” Brandon Nimmo said. “We’ve had some tough losses. We’re trying to turn it around and create a different chemistry and just kind of forget what we have done and create a new path going forward. I think the mood in the clubhouse is trying to turn the season around.”
The Mets went 5-21 in June — the third-worst calendar month in franchise history — but after Sunday’s victory, Dominic Smith was among those pointing out the Mets were tied for the best record in the majors in July. Todd Frazier and Nimmo were among the players who picked up on the message.
“It’s a new month and everybody is trying to feed on that,” Nimmo said. “Put last month to bed, it’s a new month, everybody is trying to feed on that new energy.”
Before the game, manager Mickey Callaway was asked if he was concerned his players might become numb to losing.
“We have to win more games than we have, for the fans’ sake, for the organization’s sake, for [the media’s] sake,” Callaway said. “So we have to def initely monitor [the clubhouse] and pay attention to it and make sure that guys are motivated and continue to come here believing in themselves and that they can get the job done.”
The Mets overcame three errors, thanks largely to Steven Matz. The lefty allowed only one run — it was unearned — over 5 ¹/₃ innings to continue his dominance on the road, where he has posted a 2.25 ERA this season.
Seth Lugo, in his first appearance since returning to the bullpen, pitched 1 ²/₃ scoreless innings in relief before Tim Peterson and Jeurys Familia finished it.
“I think [Lugo] eased some anxiety probably for everybody,” Callaway said. “He goes out there and throws strikes. You know what you are going to get for the most part, and it’s good to have him back in the pen.”
Frazier’s gift RBI double in the eighth — the ball was dropped by center fielder Lewis Brinson — gave the Mets a 4-1 cushion before catcher J.T. Realmuto’s throwing error allowed another run.
Matz delivered an RBI single in the fourth that extended the Mets’ lead to 3-0. It was the third hit of the season for Matz, who drove in Wilmer Flores following a leadoff single.
Asdrubal Cabrera’s solo homer with two outs in the third gave the Mets their second run. Plawecki’s RBI double an inning earlier gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Frazier drew a two-out walk to spark that rally.
Callaway, with his first half-season as a major league manager behind him, was asked if he has learned anything.
“This is really the first rough patch I have been through in my professional coaching career as far as wins and losses, so I am learning a little bit about that,” said Callaway, who spent five seasons as Indians pitching coach.
“It’s something you can’t be prepared for. This is a stretch that not many teams go through, so we just have to keep plugging along. I think the things you value really have to kick in at times like these and you have to stay the course.”