Metrospective 5/12/2025: Taking Care Of Business
It was a perfect Mother's Day for the Mets.
In today’s newsletter: Late-game offensive heroics save the day, another awesome start for Griffin Canning, and the third-base competition heats up.
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
A fascinating development has emerged in Flushing this May. No, it’s not that the Mets — after their 6-2 win on Sunday afternoon over the Cubs — are 26-15 with one of the best records in baseball. It’s not even that the vaunted pitching lab has turned Griffin Canning from overlooked trade throw-in to valuable rotation arm. Nope, not that Francisco Lindor is having one of the best starts to a season in his career.
What I’m referring to is taking place at third base (or DH, depending on the day) between good friends Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, fellow 25-year-olds who have spent their entire professional careers in the Mets organization. After slow starts to their MLB tenures, both seem to be peaking at the same time as they vie for at-bats at essentially the same positions, albeit from different sides of the plate.
Vientos officially broke out last season, going from perpetual Triple-A callup to postseason hero. Baty’s progress has been a bit more protracted. But, right now, both are on fire and it seems as if they’re taking turns with how they demonstrate their worth to Carlos Mendoza, the front office and the fanbase. On Saturday, Baty got the start at third and belted two home runs to account for all five Mets runs while Vientos went 2-for-4 as the DH. On Sunday, Baty sat against the lefty Matt Boyd and Vientos had a pair of RBIs, one on a solo home run and another on a line drive single.
With Jesse Winker out for a few months and Starling Marte relegated to part-time duty, there is room for both Baty and Vientos to play so long as they continue to produce. It’s put up or shut up time for Baty in the Majors and while Vientos has earned some leash after his incredible 2024, his relatively slow start in 2025 — at the plate and in the field — has led to justifiable concern. However, if they both continue to hit like they are at the moment, the Mets will have no choice but to make room for each of them on a long-term basis. That’s a wonderful problem to have.
It wasn’t just Vientos who shined on Sunday as Canning tossed six one-run innings for yet another stellar start. Luis Torrens drew first blood on Matt Boyd in the 2nd, ringing a long double off the fence in left-center — inches out of the reach of defensive ace Pete Crow-Armstrong — to score Starling Marte from first. A few innings later, with the game tied following a Crow-Armstrong solo homer, Vientos crushed an inside fastball to left for his fifth dinger of the year.
The Cubs fought right back, evening up the score at two runs apiece in the top of the 7th. Reed Garrett walked the lead-off batter, Michael Busch, and then gave up the tying run when Nico Hoerner doubled to left.
After the Mets went quietly in the bottom of the frame, Ryne Stanek retired the side in order in the 8th. Then, the offense got to work.
Lindor got ahead 3-1 against Porter Hodge, who earned the save for the Cubs on Saturday night (and got Lindor to ground into a double play in the process). This time, Francisco redeemed himself. He demolished a hanging sweeper into the bullpen in right-center and, in a change from his usual modus operandi, was visibly excited as he rounded the bases, touched home and high-fived the on-deck Juan Soto. After the game, Lindor said he really wanted that at-bat, in part due to it being Mother’s Day and having his wife and children at the game.
Two batters later, Pete Alonso doubled to left and then was driven home by Vientos’ base hit up the middle. Brandon Nimmo made it a 6-2 game when he took Gavin Hollowell deep, he too smashing a helicopter sweeper that sat right over the plate.
Just to be sure, Mendoza went to Edwin Díaz for the top of the 9th and, for the second-straight day, Díaz was sharp. He coaxed three-consecutive groundouts to finish off the win, clinching a second-consecutive series victory for the Mets against a playoff contender.
What To Note
There have, obviously, been many positive surprises this season but Canning has to be at the top of the list. His ERA is down to 2.36 after an offseason in which he was traded by the Angels to the Braves and immediately non-tendered by Atlanta. He was included just so the Braves could get out of Jorge Soler’s contract. Then, Canning signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Mets to serve as a long-man/rotation depth. Now, he’s a critical part of one of the better rotations in baseball. All he gave up on Sunday was an infield single, the Crow-Armstrong home run and a walk while striking out five and completing six innings for the second time.
Four-straight games with a hit for Nimmo, who was 2-for-4. The extended consistency hasn’t been there for him just yet but he looks a lot better at the plate.
While Vientos’ homer was his first in May, his bat is coming around as well. He went 4-for-9 this series and has at least one hit in his last seven starts. The relative lack of extra-base hits for a power hitter is a drop concerning but, in my eyes, those will follow from the hard contact he’s making.
Torrens left the game in the top of the 6th when a foul ball struck him in an, um, sensitive area. He was down on the field for a few minutes and remained pretty motionless, a concerning sight. He was able to get up and walk into the clubhouse on his own power as Francisco Álvarez replaced him. Word from Mendoza is that Torrens is doing a bit better. Watching live, though, it seemed incredibly painful. Hoping the best for Luis.
Speaking of Álvarez, he made the most of his partial appearance going 2-for-2 in his pair of at-bats. His average is up to .318 as he begins to look like himself at the dish.
Strong outings for both Stanek and Díaz who seem to have worked through their respective rough patches. The stuff is always going to be there for those two, the question is command. When they throw strikes and get ahead of hitters, they’re fine.
Three more strikeouts for Alonso, who has fanned 11 times in his last five games. He has only struck out 35 times all year in 41 games. Something to continue to monitor.
Up Next
The Mets welcome in the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game mid-week set starting on Monday night. Pittsburgh is coming off a series win over the Braves. The matchup for the opener is a good one with David Peterson going for New York against Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes. First pitch on Monday is at 7:10 p.m. with SNY and 880 AM on the calls.
It’s been a rough year for the Buccos who are 2-8 in May and 14-27 on the season. They just fired manager Derek Shelton and are dead-last in the Majors in runs scored. This is a series the Mets have to take control of.
Skenes hasn’t been quite as good this season as he was in his 2024 Rookie of the Year campaign but he is still one of the top pitchers in baseball. His peripheral numbers are pretty similar between the two years with the exception of a major decrease in his strikeout rate.
Peterson battled his command in his last start against the Diamondbacks, walking four and allowing four hits in six innings. Look for him to be aggressive in the zone against the light-hitting Pirates.