Why Mets' Abnormal Start Could Indicate Special Season in 2022
PHILADELPHIA -- Mets centerfielder Brandon Nimmo summed it up perfectly after his team's stunning seven-run comeback win over the Phillies on Thursday night.
“This doesn’t happen every day,” said Nimmo. “No-hitters don’t happen every day. Five-run ninth innings don’t happen every day. Seven-run ninth innings don’t happen every day. Those guys are getting paid a lot of money to get us out and they’re good at it, so this is not a normal circumstance."
And Nimmo has a point. Entering Thursday's action, MLB teams were 0 for their last 684 in games when trailing by six runs in the ninth inning. The Mets were 0-330 when behind by six runs or more in the ninth across the last 25 seasons.
The Mets were down 7-1 to the Phillies in the ninth inning on Thursday, before scoring seven runs to somehow pull out an incomparable victory. Down to their last out, Nimmo's two-run single tied the game and Starling Marte's second hit of the inning, a go-ahead double, gave the Mets a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
“A great team win," said Francisco Lindor, who's two-run home run in the ninth sparked a seven-run rally to help the Mets beat the Phils'. "Extremely special. The way everybody believed in everybody, pushed each other, counted on each other, it’s special for sure. Wins like this, they add up throughout the course of the year and they’re huge for a ball club."
In the same breath, It's May 6, and we're still just 28 games into the regular season. The Mets have acknowledged how early it is as well. Anything can happen over the course of a full baseball season, and in no way have they been scheduling plans for any premature parades.
“It’s just fun," Lindor added. "We’re in May, we’ve still got a long way to go. This one, it’s good to keep it in the back of our heads but we have to focus on what we have in front of our eyes the next day.”
But It's hard to ignore the signs. Six days prior to the Mets' miraculous comeback over the Phillies, Tylor Megill and four relievers combined to toss the second no-hitter in franchise history (coincidentally against the Phillies). And four nights before that, the team was trailing 2-0 and down to their last strike against the St. Louis Cardinals, and were able to score five unanswered runs in another impressive comeback win. These early examples would indicate that something special is brewing in Queens.
In recent years, and not so recent years, the Mets have been no strangers to gut-wrenching losses. This season, they've been the ones dishing out the heartbreak to their opponents.
Three out of their major league leading 19 wins have come in unlikely and/or historic fashion. While It's still early, even veteran manager Buck Showalter believes this stretch shows what this club could eventually be later in the season.
"Every team develops personality as the season progresses," Showalter said. "That’s when it’s answered a lot of early season challenges. We’ll see if it bodes well, but a night like tonight shows you what could be.”
The Mets haven't won a World Series title since 1986. And clearly, there's still a very long way to go, approximately 134 games remaining in the regular season, before uttering the possibility of this team being true championship contenders. But if things continue to trend in the current direction in which they're headed, and the club has already shown us their true identity of being a relentless bunch, then the Mets are in for a special season in 2022.
From owner Steve Cohen's desire to win and willingness to spend money, to the arrivals of general manager Billy Eppler and Showalter, as well as the additions of Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Marte, Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, among others, this Mets team just feels different this year, at least early-on. And the utterly strange, yet positive events that we've seen play out so far are seemingly telling us that this will be a season to remember for the Mets.
Read More:
- Mets Overcome Seven-Run Deficit In Miraculous Comeback Win Over Phillies
- Why The Mets Can Count On Consistency From Chris Bassitt
- Carlos Carrasco Leads Mets To Doubleheader Sweep Of Braves
Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.
