3 Mets players most responsible for getting the team back to .500

Another dramatic win by the New York Mets on Friday night has pushed the club back to .500. At 23-23, it’s not the ideal start we had hoped for and yet hardly the time to start digging a grave.

Two dramatic wins bookending their last three victories have helped revitalize the Mets. How they’ve won games has breathed new life into this ball club.

Instead of shaking our fists in disgust, we need to tip our caps to these three Mets who are most responsible for getting the team back to .500.

1) NY Mets are back to .500 thanks to Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso hasn’t been red hot but the hits he is getting are huge. A grand slam on Friday put some icing on the cake. Alonso has now hit home runs in four straight games including the loss in the opener versus the Tampa Bay Rays.

Alonso has been a full-on slugger these last few days. He doesn’t have a hit that wasn’t a home run. He is making contact, though. The big guy has struck out just once since this consecutive home run streak began. He has been the catalyst in the center of the lineup. While the hits aren’t in abundance, each has been essential during these last three games which all ended with a one-run lead.

Mets fans have gotten very used to the team winning when Alonso hits well and doing the exact opposite when he doesn’t. Big flies from the Polar Bear are paying off. We’d definitely like him to do a bit more, but how can we argue with the results?

Alonso is issuing souvenirs. The Mets are winning. They’re back at .500 thanks to him.

2) NY Mets are back to .500 thanks to Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor secured his spot on this list with the game-winning hit on Friday night. He has actually been one of the better Mets hitters over the last week. He hasn’t been driving in runs consistently but he is getting on base and scoring regularly. He crossed the plate twice before the game-winning hit on a night which saw him knock two singles and a double on a 3 for 6 evening.

Lindor is having a strange season. Now batting .235/.313/.419, it’s far below where we’d like to see any of those numbers. They’re matching closely with what he did in 2021. However, he is already one double shy of the 16 he had that entire year and more than halfway to the 63 RBI he had in his 524 trips to the plate.

The takeaway here is how important Lindor’s hits have been. If he was hitting 40 points higher thanks to a couple more singles that didn’t make a difference on the scoreboard, would it matter whatsoever?

The clutch gene is something Lindor has shown at times for the Mets. The last swing of the night and the one to put his club in the win column against his former team was one way for him to prove his DNA has the strand.

Like Alonso, the Mets could use a lot more from Lindor. Without him, we’d still be waiting on remembering what .500 feels like.