Series Recap: Mets Lose 2 of 3 To Phillies, Drop 3rd Straight Series

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets

Series Recap, May 9^th – May 11^th

May 9th	Phillies 3	Mets 2
May 10th	Phillies 5	Mets 4
May 11th	Phillies 4	Mets 5

It was another rough series for the Mets, as the Phillies were able to come into Citi Field and take two of three in the series. Both teams were coming into the series after getting swept in their previous series played. It would have been a second consecutive series on the wrong side of a sweep for the Mets had their offense not bailed them out in the ninth inning on Mother’s Day. A rough May continued for the Mets, as they have lost all three series played, losing eight of 10 games played. Their record now sits at 17-19 on the season, with an uninspiring 9-10 record at home. The Phillies also have a 17-19 record, and are 11-10 on the road. Next up for the Mets is the Subway Series, four games against the New York Yankees

-Positives

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Eric Young Jr. only stared one game during the weekend series, yet managed to raise his batting average 22 points in the series. He had a big hand in the comeback win Sunday afternoon, going 3-6 from the plate with two runs, one RBI and two stolen bases. He got things started in the ninth inning with a double, and the Mets were in business from there. The Mets are 15-11 when Young Jr. is in the lineup, and 2-8 when he isn’t, showing how valuable of a piece he is to their success. With the Mets going to be facing off with the Yankees this week, Young Jr. could find himself in the lineup with the DH being in play at Yankee Stadium.

Daniel Murphy continued his strong performance at the plate, and right now is the hottest hitter the Mets have. Murphy 5-12 in the series and added five walks as he was on bas constantly for the Mets, scoring five runs. He had a monster Mother’s Day, recording two doubles and his second home run of the season. Like Young Jr. and Juan Lagares, he is doing his part at the top of the lineup to get on base. It is now a matter of the middle of the order bats to get going and start knocking in some runs.

Ruben Tejada was given an opportunity to show Terry Collins he shouldn’t give up on him yet with Wilmer Flores suffering from an illness Sunday, and he made the most of it. Tejada had the game-winning single in the 11^th inning, knocking in Chris Young. He finished the game 2-4, with one of the hits being a double in addition to the game winner.

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Jeurys Familia appeared in all three games of the series and got the job done each time he came out to the mound. In the series, Familia tossed 3.1 scoreless innings, surrendering one hit, two walks and striking out four. Familia has actually appeared in four straight games for the Mets, not allowing a run in the series finale against the Miami Marlins either. Collins hinted at that Familia may be the next pitcher to receive a chance to close games, and with how he has performed recently it would be hard to argue against.

-Negative

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Jenrry Mejia was unable to get through five innings in his start Friday, laboring through 4.2 innings and needing 101 pitches to do that. He surrendered two runs on six hits, three walks and four strikeouts. It looks more and more likely that Mejia will be removed from the starting rotation, as this has been three poor starts in a row. Mejia moving to the bullpen would mean someone has to be called up, and the most talked about option right now is Rafael Montero. If that is true, Montero would take Mejia’s turn in the rotation Wednesday night against Masahiro Tanaka.

Mejia moving to the bullpen would give the Mets another option so that they do not have to use Jose Valverde or Kyle Farnsworth. Both pitched poorly again, with Farnsworth receiving the loss Saturday and Valverde giving up a run Sunday. Neither have gotten the job done on a consistent basis, and having them in late-game situations will only cause more heart break and negative results for the Mets.

The Mets pitchers set a record they would rather not have this weekend. They will enter the record books with the longest hitless streak to start the season. The Mets pitching staff now stands at 0-63 on the season, the longest draught to start a season. Pitchers are not expected to be outstanding hitters, but it gets to a point everyone gets lucky enough and sneaks one in. The fact they offer no threat at all makes it easier for opposing pitchers to navigate through the lineup.