NEW YORK -- Over the past seven days, the Mets played seven games at Citi Field. They did not lose any of them. Last week, the Mets flew home sporting a one-game lead in the National League East. By the time Starling Marte's broken-bat, walk-off single plunked down in shallow center field late Wednesday afternoon, they led by five games and owned the best record (18-7) in Major League Baseball.
Marte¡¯s 10th-inning walk-off in a 4-3 win over the Phillies was just the latest example of what¡¯s been happening pretty much every day at Citi Field. The Mets have not only won seven in a row, but they¡¯re the only team in the Majors to win at least six straight on multiple occasions. As for their record over the past week, this marked only the second perfect homestand of at least seven games in franchise history.
¡°It¡¯s phenomenal,¡± first baseman Pete Alonso said. ¡°You can¡¯t go better than 7-0.¡±
They did it Wednesday by sauntering coolly through another three-hour cauldron of chaos. Stuck in a tie game after regulation, the Mets asked closer Edwin D¨ªaz to give them a second inning for the first time this season. D¨ªaz proceeded to allow a go-ahead single to Nick Castellanos before departing due to cramping in his left hip. He wound up being fine after rest and some testing, but D¨ªaz¡¯s absence left the Mets in a 10th-inning lurch.
Max Kranick entered and, after loading the bases on a walk and a hit, retired the next two batters to preserve a one-run deficit. A few minutes later, Alonso erased it with a double to the right-center-field fence. Then, with two outs, Marte poked his single up the middle to win it.
¡°We¡¯re playing a great brand of baseball right now,¡± Marte said through an interpreter. ¡°Everybody¡¯s focused. When you¡¯re able to have an elite lineup the way that we have, we¡¯re all doing the necessary things to win games.¡±
That means things like Brett Baty cracking his first homer of the season while facing the specter of a possible demotion, or Juan Soto making a crucial throw from right field to cut down the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the eighth, or Hayden Senger making a diving tag on that same play to preserve the tie. Things like David Peterson stranding six baserunners over the first four innings, or Francisco Lindor reaching base three times for the fourth consecutive game.
¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be the same guy every time,¡± outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. ¡°Every team has to kind of feel each other out every single year. You¡¯ve got new guys. You¡¯ve got to find out, ¡®OK, what¡¯s this team going to be?¡¯ And this team has just been really gritty. It doesn¡¯t have to look pretty. Just finding a way to win.¡±
Of everyone on the roster, Nimmo offered perhaps the most muted postgame message. The longest-tenured Met, Nimmo has witnessed some of the highest highs and lowest lows in recent franchise history. He understands that this start -- tied for the second-best the Mets have had through 25 games, behind only the 1986 team -- is rare. He also knows one bad month can erase it (and then some).
But what¡¯s promising, Nimmo said, is that he doesn¡¯t believe the Mets have played their best baseball yet -- not with himself and Soto performing below their career norms, multiple rotation members injured and other factors not quite going their way. The Mets, Nimmo kept repeating, are ¡°finding ways to win¡± regardless. He¡¯s proud of that.
¡°When the lights go on,¡± Peterson added, ¡°we¡¯re 26 guys as one.¡±
What happens next remains to be seen. Pennants aren¡¯t won in April. But considering the context of what the Mets accomplished over the final four months of last season, plus the addition of Soto (and others) and the team¡¯s hot start, expectations have soared. The Mets are now the favorite to win the NL East, which they weren¡¯t before the season began. Their odds of winning the World Series, according to FanGraphs projections, are higher than every team but the Dodgers.
¡°Understand it¡¯s only April,¡± manager Carlos Mendoza said. ¡°We¡¯re going to see those guys a lot more, and they¡¯re good teams. We¡¯re just happy to be playing really well. But I said it last night: It¡¯s going to be a fun summer.¡±