Mets Series Review: Feeble- the Real Mets are back

John Bazemore. Shutterstock Images.

In the end, the Mets did not want the division and did not have the guts or heart to win a championship. The one thing that the Mets could not let happen has, as they were swept by the Braves in Atlanta, proving that the season was just a giant tease. The Mets did not get any clutch hitting, and their pitching failed, as Jacob deGrom, likely making his final starts with the Mets, struggled on Friday, while Max Scherzer failed on Saturday. Chris Bassitt got the start on Sunday and did not do better, as the Braves dominated the series setting the Mets franchise back to mediocrity as they will be swept by the Padres in the Wild Card and will not make the playoffs again for several years, with every major free agent including deGrom, Bassitt and Edwin Diaz leaving for better teams and better chances to win as the Mets will never compete for a World Series again, after this disaster in Atlanta. 

The disastrous series started on Friday with Jacob deGrom continuing his recent poor pitching. The Mets had a chance to get to Max Fried in the second inning as the first two batters got on base, but Francisco Alvarez, in his first at-bat in the majors, hit into a double play. Luis Guillorme would get a base hit that scored Jeff McNeil to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, but the inning ended with the Mets missing an opportunity to take a bigger lead. The bottom of the second saw the game slip away as deGrom gave up back-to-back home runs from Austin Riley and Matt Olsen. 

Jacob deGrom departed the game after the sixth inning giving up a third home run to Dansby Swanson, as Max Fried was forced to exit in the fifth due to an illness. The Mets bullpen faltered as Tylor Megill gave up two runs and did not make it out of the seventh inning. The Mets got a run on a Tomas Nido home run in the eighth, but the Mets, with the bases loaded, failed as Alvarez and Naquin struck out in the ninth as the Mets lost 5-2. 

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The Mets took the lead again on Saturday, as they loaded the bases against Kyle Wright but only managed one run as Eduardo Escobar had an RBI grounder. Max Scherzer started for the Mets but was not his usual dominant self, as the Braves had good contact all game. The Braves tied the game on an RBI single in the fourth. The Mets regained the lead with three two-out hits, but it continued to be a singles parade as McNeil briefly gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the fifth.

The Braves took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth as Dansby Swanson had a two-run home run. Matt Olson added a home run in the sixth as the Braves shut down the feeble Mets the rest of the way, winning 4-2 to take over first place and sending the Mets into oblivion.  

Chris Bassitt pitched the finale and shat the bed. Dansby Swanson gave Atlanta an early lead with a home run in the first. The Mets got a home run from Daniel Vogelbach to tie the game in the second. The Mets could have scored more as James McCant had a rather feeble strikeout to squash the rally. The Mets scored two runs in the third to tie the game, as Jeff McNeil hit a home run and Vogelbach had an RBI single. However, with first and third no-outs, the Mets' bottom of the order bottomed out with Mark Canha meekly popping up, Luis Guillorme feebly striking out, and McCant again driving failing as the Mets' last chance died. Bassitt went out and melted down, allowing three runs as he left the game, allowing four runs on three hits, with three walks and a hit batter. 

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Down 4-3, the Mets never even threatened again, as Charlie Morton settled down, as the Braves bullpen dominated again. Francisco Alvarez continued to look overmatched, striking out again as the Mets' dudline failures came home to roost in the series. The Mets' lack of heart in this series was staggering as every time that the Braves took the lead, the Mets would not even look like they cared as they went down meekly, again and again, losing 5-3 as they never got a runner to second base after falling behind. 

Now that the division is over, the Mets have three games with the Nationals before they face the Padres in the Wild Card. If Starling Marte cannot play, the Mets' chances to even compete are gone, as the Padres will sweep the series without allowing a run. The Mets have failed again.