NY Mets: 1 lesson learned from each series on the West Coast trip

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The New York Mets finished their West Coast tour over the last 10 games going 5-5. They are as many games over .500 as when they first set off for California. If not for other members of their division being unbeatable, it would have been received more universally as a positive road trip.

Overall, it was a mostly successful journey from Southern California to more Southern California, and back north to Southern California. The Mets may have seen their National League East shorten but that had more to do with how other clubs were performing.

Before they play ball again at home this week, there are some lessons they can reflect on.

1) The Mets learned they can beat the Dodgers and no one can take that away

The toughest opponent on paper for the Mets was the Los Angeles Dodgers. It might be the toughest team they play all year from the National League. They have been the only team close to playing as well as the Mets.

After dropping the first two, the Met stormed back with a pair of victories in the second half of the series. The resiliency was important although it may have given them a false sense of accomplishment when they entered their next series.

Beating the Dodgers was important. More so, they did it with David Peterson and Trevor Williams starting games. Some shaky outings from their three main starters over the last few weeks, namely Chris Bassitt, could have had the team feeling a little less confident moving forward in their continued journey without Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. We witnessed last year how hard a team can fall when it’s missing even a single member of the starting rotation.

This year’s Mets team does feel different. Taking two out of four versus the Dodgers on the road will help them believe in themselves a little bit more.

2) The Mets learned they are very beatable during their series against the Padres

The Mets are not invincible. They probably already knew that although they may not have been willing to admit it. After all, they’ve been beating up most of their opponents this year.

The series loss to the San Diego Padres was humbling. After taking game one, the team folded. The pitching wasn’t good. The offense wasn’t either. All year long, I’ve wondered how the Padres have been so competitive with only a few good starting pitchers and an offense run almost exclusively through Manny Machado. The answer is a little clearer although they still don’t quite feel as powerful as the Mets over a long season.

In a strange way, it was good that the Mets experienced a series loss to the Padres after splitting with the Dodgers. Taking a game helped them understand what is needed to beat one of the best teams in baseball. Dropping the other two showed they will need a lot more to defeat someone like San Diego in a playoff series.

The finale of the series was done without Pete Alonso or Starling Marte in the starting lineup and Bassitt throwing up another dud. As ugly as the score was, it wasn’t something for the team to feel as if they’re behind the Padres in talent. The Mets were on their home field anyway. The Padres were supposed to win. The Mets just didn’t have it. They learned how beatable they can be.

3) The Mets learned absolutely nothing in their series against the Angels

Not every episode needs to end with everyone hugging and learning a lesson, does it? The Mets aren’t Friends. They’re Seinfeld.

The three games against the Angels didn’t really have any lessons to be learned. The Mets were, instead, reminded of what made them so successful in the early part of the season. Taking two out of three from your opponent is more than good enough. It’s precisely what they were able to do versus the Angels. A win on Friday, a loss on Saturday, and another victory formation on Sunday completed the mission of winning the series.

This has been a key for the Mets all year-long. Sunday could have easily resulted in a loss. The tenth game on a long West Coast road trip is easy to accidentally throw away. Instead, it was the Angels who looked exhausted as they were able to score only one run. Taijuan Walker beat up on them after a shaky first inning. The Mets, as they have done often this year, picked away at the score and after nine, left with more points.

You could have accidentally predicted this was how the series would take place. Nearly every series this year has gone that way. After two tougher ones versus the Dodgers and Padres, it’s good to see the Mets going back to the recipe that has been effective.

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