A reason for the Mets winning streak that doesn’t involve an anthropomorphic blob

What is it that led to the New York Mets waking up? Their usual June swoon never took place. Rather, they did all of that losing in May. It reached its zenith with a sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the symbolic sacrifice of Jorge Lopez’s glove into the crowd.

There is rock bottom and then there is getting swept at home in late May. Thanks to an underwhelming National League Wild Card chase, the Mets have been able to battle back. Legendary McDonald’s sidekick to Ronald McDonald, Grimace, has been getting a lot of the credit. His first pitch last Wednesday coincided with the team’s winning streak.

Is it merely the presence of the world’s most famous purple anthropomorphic blob that kicked off the success or is it something else?

Put the credit on the Mets winning streak on the return of Francisco Alvarez and Edwin Diaz

Francisco Alvarez and Edwin Diaz happened to return from the IL last week, too. Although Alvarez hasn’t hit a whole lot and Diaz isn’t involved in every game, the steady presence of both on the roster have undoubtedly raised morale and confidence.

Although Tomas Nido did a fine job filling in, he was quickly outplayed in all aspects by Luis Torrens. Hence the designation for assignment upon Alvarez’s return. Diaz, on the other hand, never was suitably replaced as the closer. In his absence, and even prior to it, the ninth inning was the shakiest of situations for the Mets. No more. Diaz looks like all he needed was some time away to get right.

Of course, it isn’t fair to give all of the trophies and accolades to these two. The Mets have suddenly decided to start hitting. They’ve scored double digits multiple times. For these to come in games started by Dylan Cease and Jon Gray makes it even more impressive.

Tuesday’s win had a lot to do with the performance of this pairing. Alvarez’s double and Diaz’s clean inning in the ninth assured us we haven’t seen the last of Grimace. The winning streak is now up to 7. The team is a half game out of a Wild Card spot and two games under .500.

The preposterous nature of the NL Wild Card standings has even allowed the Mets to overtake the San Diego Padres whose visit to Citi Field on Friday had them holding onto the second Wild Card spot. There’s a long way left to go and even when this winning streak does come to an end, we’ll be fortunate to have more than a big purple goofball leading the way.

Why are the Mets winning so much? Confidence. Security. Stability.