Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets begin an exciting half of baseball as they chase the Phillies for first in the NL East.
Following the All-Star Break, the
Mets (55-42) return to play with three games against the
Reds (50-47) at Citi Field. The Mets took four out of six from the Reds last season, including two of three at Citi Field. More important than the games themselves, the Mets will spend the weekend celebrating the career of Captain David Wright, with the club retiring his #5 on Saturday afternoon.
It may seem like a long time ago, but the Mets last played a three-game set against the
Royals, taking two of three at Kauffman Stadium to conclude play before the All-Star break. The Mets were quiet early but came alive late in
an 8-3 win one week ago. New York had just two hits heading into the eighth but exploded for seven runs across the final two innings. This included Mark Vientos’ bases-clearing double in the seventh and Francisco Lindor’s three-run home run in the ninth. Juan Soto also provided a solo shot, going back-to-back with Lindor to cap off the scoring. Kodai Senga returned with a very encouraging outing after missing a month with a hamstring strain.
The Mets followed that up with
a 3-1 victory on Saturday to secure a series win. This win came courtesy of Soto’s absolute bomb of a home run in the fourth inning, which gave the Mets a lead they would not relinquish. Frankie Montas had his best start as a Met to date, pitching into the sixth and finishing up with five-plus innings one one-run ball to earn the win. Edwin Díaz pitched the final two innings to earn the save.
The Mets battled on Sunday but
ultimately fell 3-2 as they were denied a sweep in Kansas City. The Mets seemed like they had one foot in the break as they slept-walked through much of the early part of this game. Clay Holmes allowed two in the second but buckled down and kept KC off the board in his final three frames, ultimately pitching five innings of two-run ball. Sean Manaea returned and was tremendous, striking out five in a row at one point. The Mets tied it up in the ninth, but the Royals would push a run across in the ninth against Manaea, in his fourth inning of work, to pick up the walk-off victory.
Heading into the break, the Mets, as a team, found themselves fourth in the NL in wRC+ (110) and OPS (.738). Overall, they are eighth in the NL in runs scored (426), but their big concern remains their inability to hit with runners in scoring position. This will be something they need to improve in the second half of the season if they want to get where they’re hoping to go. On the pitching front, they find themselves second in rotation ERA (3.38), trailing only the division rival
Phillies (3.25). Their rotation also sports a 3.81 FIP, which is third among NL squads. Their bullpen, which has struggled as of late, is middle-of-the-pack, with a 3.83 ERA (7th in the NL) and a 3.69 FIP (third in the NL).
As expected, it was the Mets’ superstars who got them to where they are, despite some periods of struggle. Alonso leads the way for the club with a 156 wRC+ and a .908 OPS while slashing .280/.376/.532 with a 3.0 fWAR while being the only Met to appear in all 97 of the team’s games. He has 21 homers as he sits just five behind Darryl Strawberry for the franchise record, and barring something unforeseen he will break it at some point this season. Soto, following his early-season struggles, roared to a .262/.396/.509 slash line while leading the club with 23 homers and 70 runs scored and coming in second with a 155 wRC+ and third with a 2.9 fWAR in 96 games. Lindor, who started the All-Star game at shortstop, hit .260/.330/.457 with a 123 wRC+ and a team-best 3.6 fWAR in 95 games. Jeff McNeil (123 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR) and Brandon Nimmo (122 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR) have been a big part of the team’s early-season success.
But as has been said all season, the team will need contributions from the bottom of the lineup, and it’s been a bit of a black hole. The team expected more from Vientos after his breakthrough 2024 campaign, but he has struggled to the tune of a .223/.280/.361 slash line and an 82 wRC+, and his -0.4 fWAR is lowest among Mets players with at least 100 plate appearances. Bretty Baty hasn’t been much better, hitting .226/.282/.403 with a 94 wRC+ and a 0.9 fWAR. Francisco Alvarez has only hit .236/.319/.333 with a 92 wRC+ and a 0.4 fWAR, and his power has disappeared at the big league level, with only three homers. All three players have spent time in Triple-A at times to work on their game. Beyond that, Luis Torrens and Tyrone Taylor have not provided much offense throughout much of this season.
The Reds finished the first half by taking two of three from the
Rockies. Prior to that, they split four with the
Marlins. They find themselves in fourth place in a tough NL Central division, behind the
Cubs, the
Brewers, and the
Cardinals. They reside just 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, which is currently occupied by the
Padres.
There really is one key player to watch whenever Cincinnati is in town, and it’s the electric Elly De La Cruz, who represented Cincinnati in Tuesday’s All-Star game. Cruz leads the club with a 130 wRC+, 18 homers, 72 runs scored, 63 runs batted in, 25 stolen bases, and a 3.6 fWAR while hitting .284/.359/.495 in 97 games. Basically, he does it all for the Reds and is well worth the price of admission to watch this team. TJ Friedl has also had a solid campaign, hitting .276/.368/.406 with nine homers, 55 runs scored, a 117 wRC+, and a 2.1 fWAR in 93 games.
Friday, July 18: Sean Manaea vs. Nick Lodolo, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY
Sean Manaea (2025): 3.1 IP, 7 K, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2.70 ERA, -1.12 FIP, 69 ERA-
Manaea was a hard luck loser in his return to the mound on the Sunday before the break, but he was sensational after missing the entire first half with an oblique injury. He struck out seven over 3 1⁄3 innings in relief of Clay Holmes. At one point, he punched out five straight Royals, and he didn’t issue a walk. He allowed five hits in the frame, but it was the two consecutive hits he allowed in the ninth that ultimately sunk the Mets. He will get his first real start on Friday, and his performance in the second half could be a huge boost to the team’s postseason chances and
World Series aspirations.
Lodolo (2025): 106.2 IP, 97 K, 22 BB, 15 HR, 3.38 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 78 ERA-
Since allowing six earned runs to the
Guardians on June 11, Lodolo has recovered with a really nice five-start stretch. Over that span, he owns a 2.28 ERA in 27 2⁄3 innings of work. In that stretch, he’s striking out 23.5% of batters while walking 5.2% of batters. He went into the break with one of his best starts of 2025, tossing six shutout innings against Miami in which he scattered three hits and struck out four. Lodolo, who finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, has already eclipsed the best bWAR of his career, which he set in his rookie campaign.
Saturday, July 19: Clay Holmes vs. Nick Martinez, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY
Holmes (2025): 103.1 IP, 83 K, 41 BB, 11 HR, 3.31 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 84 ERA-
Holmes went five innings and allowed two runs in his final outing before the break, but didn’t factor in the decision—he was in line for the loss before the Mets tied the game in the ninth. Holmes was a bright spot in the first half, transitioning seamlessly to starting after becoming a star reliever for the
Yankees. The concern heading into the second half is that he’s already eclipsed his career high in innings pitched—that would be 70 innings back in 2021. He’s thrown right around 63 innings each of the past two seasons. The Mets are going to think carefully about how they handle Holmes the rest of the way, especially as they prepare for a potential postseason run.
Martinez (2025): 111.0 IP, 76 K, 25 BB, 14 HR, 4.78 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 111 ERA-
Martinez posted the best season of his major league career for Cincinnati last year, finishing with a career-best 4.0 bWAR. This year hasn’t quite gone has smoothly for the veteran right-hander, who is sporting an ERA close to five. That is, mainly, due to his start on July 8, where he was tattooed for ten earned runs in five innings of work against the Marlins, which caused his ERA to balloon by a half-run. His last start was an improvement—hard to do worse than that start, if we’re being honest—as he limited Colorado to two earned runs on five hits in 5 1⁄3 innings, which helped Martinez earn his seventh win of the season (against nine losses).
Sunday, July 20: David Peterson vs. Andrew Abbott, 1:40 PM EDT on WPIX
Peterson (2025): 109.0 IP, 93 K, 37 BB, 7 HR, 3.06 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 78 ERA-
Peterson is fresh off throwing one shutout inning in the All-Star game. It is a huge accomplishment and a well-deserved honor for the Mets’ left-hander, who owns the 11th best ERA and the 13th best FIP among qualified NL starters. He’s been great to begin July after allowing five earned runs in back-to-back starts to close out the month of June. In his most recent outing against the
Orioles, he pitched into the eighth and allowed one earned run on five hits over seven-plus innings. Prior to that, he threw 6 2⁄3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits against the
Brewers, which earned him his sixth win of the 2025 season.
Abbott (2025): 91.1 IP, 83 K, 24 BB, 10 HR, 2.07 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 48 ERA-
Abbott, a former second round pick for Cincinnati, has blossomed in his third year in the big leagues and was named to his first All-Star game. Abbott entered the break with the second-best ERA among NL starters with at least 90 innings, trailing just All-Star game starter Paul Skenes. That alone is pretty remarkable. His last start before the break saw him go 7 2⁄3 innings and hold Miami to one earned run on six hits, with five strikeouts and two walks as he earned his eight victory of the season against just one loss. He has been one of the most reliable pitchers for the Reds, and they have, in turn, won 12 of his 16 outings in 2025.