3 Mets who deserve a lot of credit for resurrecting the team back from the dead

A 9-8 record isn’t ideal. After starting 0-5 and getting buried in the first week of the season by practically everyone, a record over .500 for the New York Mets is satisfying enough at the moment. The last thing any of us wanted was to spend the whole year focused on what’s happening in Syracuse, Binghamton, and Brooklyn. Unwilling to give in, this team has played with a lot more heart. It has shown up in the results.

Who do we thank? The Mets are still struggling to hit on a regular basis. The starting pitchers offer practically no length. Somehow, this team is finding a way to win. If you only have three cheers to give, give ‘em the way of these three we didn't expect to be so important.

1) Reed Garrett

Is it time we start buying into Reed Garrett as a changed man? Now 8.2 innings into his season, the man has 17 strikeouts versus 3 walks. He hasn’t allowed a single run to score unearned or otherwise.

Garrett’s success has been even more important for the Mets crawling back over .500 because of what it means. The Mets have been able to get away with some carelessness with other members of the bullpen. Knowing Garrett is available in games where we might not see Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, etc. has added to the success of this team. It gives the bullpen a different sort of vibe on days when he pitches.

It started with three shutout innings and a win in the team’s first win of the season. It continued with 2.1 more frames in their first victory against the Atlanta Braves. Garrett pitched for a third time against the Kansas City Royals by offering them four outs and he recorded six more on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Garrett feels like the new Seth Lugo for this staff or maybe even more of an old-school type of reliever. He’s doing what the Mets hoped Michael Tonkin would at an elite level. Not enough praise can get handed down to Garrett whose presence helps make up for the lack of innings from the starters and any mismanagement of the bullpen on a daily basis.

Others are taking notice of his early success. Dan Plesac called him the third best reliever in baseball right now.

2) Harrison Bader

There are a couple of hitters who have done well over the last week or so. Pete Alonso has been their hottest, but it’s hard to leave a guy like Harrison Bader off of this list. Bader has cut down on his strikeouts tremendously and it helped reward the Mets with back-to-back wins. An infield hit with the bases loaded on Sunday followed by his first extra-base hit of the season on Monday pushed the Mets from 6-8 up to 8-8 before they took a victory on Tuesday.

Over his last 5 games, Bader is 7 for 18 with only 2 strikeouts. His infield hit showed the importance of just making contact. His speed helped make his go-ahead RBI on Sunday happen. Run fast and a player might panic.

Bader still isn’t a guy the Mets should count on to regularly help them win games. Remember Patrick Mazieka? Bader is working some of that voodoo lately by being in the right place at the right time.

A part of the reason he has been able to be successful is a credit to two players he is sharing some duties with. Tyrone Taylor and DJ Stewart are equally as hot. We’ve seen the three pinch hit for one another multiple times this season. Lately, it’s resulting in big hits and Mets wins.

Let’s not discount the defense either. Bader isn’t a highlight machine in center field simply because he’s able to make difficult catches look a little more routine. It has been a really good stretch for him.