Three Homers a Day
Most teams fall apart when they sell off their best players at the trade deadline. The Mets did the exact opposite. They dumped five pitchers and one position player, then proceeded to sweep the Cleveland Guardians. This three-game sweep ended on Thursday with a massive 13-6 win at Progressive Field. It was only the third time all season the Mets pulled off a sweep. They hadn’t done it since May.
The offense was on fire for three straight days. The team hit three home runs in every single game of the series. Marcus Semien, Luis Torrens, and Francisco Lindor led the charge with long balls. The squad averaged 8.3 runs per game during this stretch. That number is huge for a team that was struggling just days before. The sweep included an 18-hit attack on Thursday alone. It followed a massive purge on Monday where Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver, Clay Holmes, and Tyrone Taylor were all sent packing.
The Work Behind the Bat
The biggest surprise came from a player who was hitting almost nothing. Jorge Polanco entered the series with a terrible .388 OPS. He was the poster child for a failed offseason. He had not hit a home run since April. Then he went 2-for-4 with a solo shot in the third inning. This blast snapped a brutal 0-for-26 skid.
Interim manager Andy Green told the New York Post that Polanco took about 300 swings before the game on Wednesday. That is a massive amount of work for a veteran player. Green backed up the hard work with praise for the player’s potential. “Sometimes the sweat equity gets you rolling again,” Green said. He added, “There’s a ton of ability in him. There’s a long track record. If you’re out there watching him there’s a good swing. He’s got a lot of things going for him.”
Smart Moves in the Outfield
The team made a clever change to the defensive alignment that helped the offense too. Brett Baty started in left field instead of right. The manager wanted to keep Carson Benge in right field because of the field dimensions. “When you look out at this outfield, this is one of the biggest right fields in baseball and I think we know how good Carson is in right field,” Green said. He noted that the left field wall is very big, but Baty has the confidence to handle it there.
The roster also got a fresh look with new young talent. Sammy Stafura, acquired from the Pirates, was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for July. He led the league in homers with 14 and RBIs with 35. Jefry Yan also made his major league debut, becoming the seventh Mets player to do so this season. The team averaged 8.3 runs while Nolan McLean pitched. McLean had a rough start but finished strong, striking out eight batters over five innings.
The Real Result
This sweep proves that the trade deadline moves weren’t a mistake. The team got rid of the dead weight and found a rhythm immediately. Polanco’s home run was his first since April, and it came right after the roster shakeup. The Mets are hitting with a purpose now. They’re dominating. The 13-6 win on Thursday sealed the deal. The team is looking like a world-beater again after a long slump. The bullpen might be thinner, but the bats are louder. That is what wins games in August.
