The Mets are searching for any type of spark at the dish.
The not-so-Amazins have gotten off to a very slow offensive start and those woes at the plate have been front and center during their four-game losing streak — dropping two to the fourth-place Giants and two to the last-place Nationals — where they’ve scored nine runs combined.
Against the Nats specifically is where the concerns heightened. The Mets were shutout in the opener of the series and scored just one run in their loss on Wednesday going 9-for-63 (.143) in the first two games against the sewer of the NL East.
While it is early, there are stark differences with this year’s squad from the team that won 101 games last season that warrants some legitimate concern.
Brandon Nimmo (.925 OPS this season) and Pete Alonso (.882 OPS) — although he has just two hits in his last 25 at-bats — have been the only notable forces in Buck Showalter’s lineup.
The rest of the lineup leaves a lot to be desired, including from star shortstop Francisco Lindor. The 29-year-old is slashing .213/.318/.436 with four homers and 18 RBI.
“I’m getting my pitches and I’m missing them,” Lindor said after Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Nationals. “I’ve definitely got to be better, I personally feel like I have to do better, but it’s part of the game. As a professional, I definitely need to do better.”
While the Mets do need their star shortstop to pick it up, there is plenty of blame to go around from top to bottom. The Amazins are hitting .234 (20th in baseball) with a .329 on-base percentage (12th). A sizeable drop from last season when they ranked second in both categories (.254 average and .339 OBP).
For a team that struggled with its power stroke even when it succeeded in scoring the fifth-most runs in 2022 as they ranked 15th with 171 homers, not hitting for average or getting on base at an elite rate to cancel out their underwhelming ability to drive the baseball is a recipe for disaster.
Outside of the preliminary statistics, the Mets had an identity last season of working the count, being a sound situational hitting team and breaking your back with two outs. While as a team they are seeing a similar number of pitches per at-bat — averaging 3.88 per plate appearance compared to 3.89 last season — their two-strike approach and hitting with runners in scoring position has seen a sizeable dip.
With the pitcher ahead in the count, the Mets are slashing .166/.188/.229. Last season they slashed .205/.222/.307. With runners in scoring position, they hit .269 last season as opposed to .235 this season. With two outs and runners in scoring position, they’re posting a .231 average where it was .260 in 2022.
It’s still early and a hot streak will see all of the underlying numbers take a jump, however, figuring it out sooner rather than later should be a priority as the Atlanta Braves — who already own a three-game lead in the NL East — are coming to Citi Field beginning Friday for four-game series. As displayed by the September series last season where the Braves — entering the series one game behind the Amazins — swept the Mets on their way to winning the division title, all games and especially division games count, no matter what month it is.
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