Metrospective 6/16/2025: Read It And Sweep
More dreadful baseball from the Mets.
In today’s newsletter: Griffin Canning couldn’t throw strikes, the offense did nothing, and the Mets were severely outplayed once more.
A Wasted Weekend
It was only a matter of time before the Mets would be truly outclassed in a series, beaten down so badly like they have done to multiple other opponents this season. To go this far into a season without being swept is an accomplishment and while it doesn’t reduce the sting from a hideous 9-0 loss to the Rays — and a series in which the Mets were outscored 24-9 — that should provide some much-needed perspective.
There is no sugar-coating a weekend in front of three big crowds that didn’t feature a win and was marked by non-competitive pitching, ugly at-bats with runners on base and a complete lack of the aggressiveness, fire and fight that we have been used to seeing from this team. Carlos Mendoza’s squad was outprepared, outclassed, and outhustled by a hungry Rays team that has been one of the best in the Majors over the past month.
However, it wouldn’t be wise to draw too many long-term conclusions from this lost series, outside of that the race to a hopeful NL East title will not be so easy. There is much baseball to be played and with the Phillies’ own home sweep of a talented AL East foe — the Blue Jays — the Mets’ rivals to the south are now within 2.5 games of the top spot in the division. As Sherlock Holmes would say, the game is afoot.
Sunday’s game was a forgettable one for Griffin Canning, who put forth his worst effort as a Met — his fourth poor performance in his last five. He walked a season-high five batters and allowed six runs (all earned) in 4 1/3 innings. Canning wasn’t hit hard, per se, but it didn’t matter because he couldn’t command any of his pitches. Tampa Bay constantly had men on base and capitalized on those opportunities.
The Mets had a chance to grab an early lead in the bottom of the 1st when, after a long lead-off Francisco Lindor flyout, Brandon Nimmo singled off Shane Baz and stole second base. He was stranded there as Juan Soto grounded out and Pete Alonso struck out. They went on to go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, capping a 4-for-27 performance in those situations all weekend. On the season, the Mets’ average with RISP is a paltry .218 and, for the most part, hasn’t really improved much.
Conversely, the Rays jumped on the first chance they got and ran away with this one. In the 2nd, Canning walked Jonathan Aranda and Jake Mangum. José Caballero dropped down a perfect bunt between Canning and Brett Baty at third, who retreated instead of charging the ball, to load the bases with no outs. Kameron Misner knocked in the first run with a groundout, Canning ushered in the second with a wild fastball and Danny Jansen made it 3-0 with a line-drive single.
Another walk in the 3rd, coupled with smart baserunning from Junior Caminero, resulted in another tally when Mangum beat out a double play slowly turned by Luisangel Acuña — filling in for Francisco Lindor at shortstop with Lindor at DH as he works around his broken pinky toe — and Baty. The Mets loaded the bases for Alonso in the bottom of the frame only for Pete to chase a few high fastballs for an untimely strikeout.
Tampa Bay really put things out of reach in the 5th when Canning walked his fourth and fifth batters of the night, leaving a mess for Max Kranick to clean up in relief. With one out and Josh Lowe on second and Caminero on first, Aranda turned on a low-and-in fastball from Kranick, ripping it down the first-base line for a two-run double. Both runs were charged to Canning and this one was essentially a wrap.
Kranick held the fort for the next few innings but the Mets’ offense couldn’t get anything going against Baz, Mason Montgomery, Eric Orze or Cole Sulser. The recently recalled Ty Adcock finished off the 7th and threw an impressive 8th, striking out three.
Ryne Stanek, just trying to get some work in, struggled in the 9th as he gave up a walk, a single and a long three-run home run to Caminero that put a fitting cap on a weekend to forget. Things reached a point where Mendoza even used outfielder Jared Young on the mound to wrap it up and he actually kept the Rays off the board.
What To Note
Good riddance to that series. For the second-straight season, the Mets have been swept by the Rays. While Tampa Bay may not have a star-laden lineup or a lights-out rotation like in past seasons, the Rays play an aggressive and speed-focused style of play which the Mets had no answer for. They scout and gameplan with the best of them. The Amazin’s could not keep up.
Time to officially be worried about Canning. He did not have it at all on Sunday and that has been an increasingly common issue with him as of late. He has been so good, and such a surprise, all year that it can be easy to overlook how his ERA is up to 3.80. Whether it’s fatigue or other teams catching up to him or a lack of execution, something has to change or he will (rightly) be out of a rotation spot.
In the Mets’ defense, they seemed to get screwed by awful batted-ball luck all series, largely due to the atrocious weather. Soto, in particular, hit a ton of hard flyballs that just died on the warning track. Meanwhile, the Rays mostly kept the ball on the ground and on a line. That’s a good example of using the conditions to your advantage. The Mets didn’t adjust.
Kranick’s struggles continue. After being so good to start the year, he has a 4.66 ERA since the beginning of May. Way too much hard contact.
Baty left the game early with right groin tightness and is day-to-day, per Mendoza. Another infield injury is not what the Mets need right now so it’s good that Baty’s ailment doesn’t seem too serious.
Up Next
The Mets are off on Monday as they head down to Atlanta, where they’ll play the Braves for the first time this season beginning on Tuesday. David Peterson, Paul Blackburn and Clay Holmes will be on the mound for New York while Spencer Schwellenbach, Chris Sale and Spencer Strider go for Atlanta. This is a critical stretch of the season as the Mets’ next 10 games are against the Braves (seven) and Phillies (three).
First pitch for Tuesday’s opener is at 7:15 p.m. from Truist Park on SNY and 880 AM. The Braves have been playing a bit better as of late but were crushed 10-1 by the Rockies, at home, on Sunday so Atlanta is smarting a bit. Entering this series, the Braves are 31-39 and 13 games behind the Mets despite having won their last two series.
Peterson needs to be a stopper for this beleaguered rotation. He is coming off his best start as a Major Leaguer, his first career shutout against the Nationals on Wednesday. Even with the ugly record, this Atlanta lineup is still loaded with All-Stars, headlined by a fully operational Ronald Acuña Jr. Peterson will need to be at the top of his game.
This will be the first time the Mets see Schwellenbach since Game 161 of the 2024 season in which he held them to one run in seven innings. He left the game and the rest was history. Schwellenbach is having a strong sophomore campaign, pitching to a 3.11 ERA over 14 starts. Also, he too threw a complete game in his last outing — a nine-inning, two-run gem against the Brewers.
He has dominated the Mets in three career starts, holding the Orange and Blue to nine hits, one walk and two runs over 21 innings. The good guys will have their work cut out for them tomorrow night.