The Mets ended their third straight home series with a walk-off win on Sunday night.

It is notable that I happened to be there for all three.

But that’s not the most important notable part.

The most important part is that the Mets did not win any of those three series. (The walk-off earned a split with the Cubs).

The walk-offs against St. Louis and Atlanta avoided sweeps, though, so they carried their own importance.

And this weekend against Atlanta has me thinking about this season overall.

Everyone likes to cite the Mets’ recent - and not-so-recent, if we’re being honest - history against Atlanta because the Mets have struggled so much against that team.

But right now, to me, the only thing that matters is 3-3 - the 2024 record between the teams. Each team has taken two out of three at the other’s home ballpark.

Friday night Atlanta put up 4 runs on three home runs in the third inning against Jose Quintana and made it stand up, as the Mets lost 4-2.

Saturday Max Fried allowed no hits, and a J.D. Martinez 2-out ninth inning home run prevented the combined no-no and allowed the Mets to save a little face.

I wish the Mets responded with a blowout win on Sunday against Bryce Elder, but that does not seem to be the type of team we’re dealing with this year.

What are we dealing with?

I think this is a hybrid team if ever I’ve seen one:

They’re a contender - I don’t think that can be denied. They’re in it without Kodai Senga and Francisco Alvarez, and in theory will be better when a lot of players return from injury. (Brooks Raley was very quietly injured and very quietly may not pitch again this season, but everyone else should return to health at some point.)
They’re also likely to trade some players come the trade deadline - there are too many players on expiring contracts that can bring back some kind of value and, as long as they’re not all traded for nothing, they should be expendable in a way that doesn’t hurt the team’s 2024 chances.
They’re also a young team with a lot of potential for the future. Take Christian Scott. I love that the Mets had him pitch on Saturday against Atlanta. Right off the bat he’s faced two very good teams - the Rays and Atlanta - and he’s held his own. I like that the Mets were like, your stuff can compete against some of the best bats in the league, we trust you to go in these games, and he’s responded with better starts than some of his veteran rotation mates. There’s more like him in the system.
They’re also grinders. I firmly believe things will get better for Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso (he’s out of his slump, in case you’re wondering, swinging a very good bat), and the team is slumping now with guys like Starling Marte not hitting his best and Brett Baty in a slump….. If they’re hitting on all cylinders, they could be explosive. But they’re not…and they’re still keeping themselves in games. Even when they lose, and they talk about this all the time, they make the other team grind it out - that’s how Raisel Iglesias has to pitch in the first two games of the series and you end up with A.J. Minter trying to close out a game and he just doesn’t do that as effectively. And that’s how you get a Brandon Nimmo walk-off home run.

Sunday night was exciting. It was my first night game of the year - the lights are cool, there’s a nice atmosphere at the park, even when it’s mostly empty (I guess Mother’s Day night isn’t exactly a draw?), and I think most people believe - at least I do - that the Mets can come back in any game.

I think there’s more excitement to come.

The Weekend Against Atlanta: 1-2

Overall Record: 19-20 (you can slice this up in a few ways…what I like to think of it, even though it hasn’t been lights-out lately, is that the Mets are 19-15 since the 0-5 start)

Standings: 3rd place, 8 games back of Philadelphia

Up Next: The Mets match up with the Phillies for the first time this year. Since the teams will play two in London next month, both have had weird schedules so far…this is a 4-game set but there are 2 games at Citi Field followed by two games in Philadelphia. Obviously a huge four games. Should be fun to watch.

I guess I’d better continue the tradition of posting my walk-off pic at the end of the post. It’s been lucky.

Let’s Go Mets.