Considering the relative ease of the early-season schedule and the less-than-name-brand nature of the starting rotation, it was fair to wonder whether the dominance of the Mets’ pitching would hold up against a powerhouse lineup like that of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Two major league scouts said as much before this three-game series began on Monday.
“I wouldn’t call what they’re doing a fluke, but facing the Phillies is definitely a step up from a lot of the lineups they’ve seen,” was how one scout put it. “I’ll be impressed if they shut them down, too.
Added another: “The Phillies are much more disciplined as a lineup than they were a year ago, so it would be quite a statement if the Mets go out there and do what they’ve been doing to other teams.”
Consider it a statement made, then. So far, anyway.
Yes, the remarkable storyline that is the Mets’ pitching in 2025 has not only survived the dangerous Phillies’ lineup but continued to thrive against it in taking the first two games of the series.
The final on Tuesday night was 5-1 as Griffin Canning gutted his way through five trouble-filled innings and the bullpen was spotless for the final four, enabling the Mets to lower their team ERA to 2.37, easily the best in the majors.
And while the score was 5-4 a night earlier, the Phillies only put up one run through eight innings and that may well have been it had Carlos Mendoza not gotten greedy, as he admitted Tuesday, and tried to push Max Kranick for a third inning in that game — leading to a three-run home run against Edwin Diaz.
All of which led one of the scouts I had spoken with before the series to text me after Tuesday night’s win with a simple: “I’m impressed.”
Yes, the Mets are making believers by the day, it seems, as they continue to rocket through April even with an offense that has been spotty and so far has received little impact from Juan Soto.
To this point, anyway, Pete Alonso’s scorching bat and a suddenly-hot Francisco Lindor have been more than enough to carry the load offensively, especially on Tuesday night.
As such the Mets are rolling, extending their winning streak to six games while raising their record to 17-7, four games in front of these Phillies in the NL East, and Citi Field is rocking like it’s October, as the bigger-than-usual early-season crowds have added to the good vibes around these Mets.
Alonso is hitting .444 with two outs and runners in scoring position after his key seventh-inning double on Tuesday, oozing confidence in the clutch after failing too often in such spots last season.
And Lindor is now hitting .301 in April after going 3-for-5 in this game, and you know what that could mean, considering he’s a notoriously slow starter in his career.
On this night, it was also worth noting the Mets’ approach, as they keyed in on Cristopher Sanchez’s changeup, knowing he’d gotten a whopping 23 swings-and-misses against it in his last start against the San Francisco Giants, and made a point not to be fooled by it.
As a result, they fouled off a ton of pitches early, made Sanchez throw 58 pitches in two innings (before leaving with forearm tightness), and scored on Mark Vientos’ double down the line off a changeup and Lindor’s opposite-field single inside first base on a fastball while protecting against the changeup.
“We had to respect both his changeup and his fastball,” was the way Vientos put it. “I had a plan and I executed it.
“Our whole team was grinding. That’s what I like most about this lineup. Nobody gives away at-bats. If we continue to do that, we’re going to be a scary, scary team to play against.”
Yes, there is a lot of belief in the Mets’ clubhouse. Some of it goes back to last season, all the late-inning heroics that fueled their run to the NLCS, and some of it is the way they’ve played in 2025, finding ways to win even without a lot of offense at times.
Mostly it has been about the pitching, and that’s where the Phillies figured to provide a litmus test for the likes of Tylor Megill and Canning, two starters who likely wouldn’t have been in the rotation if not for injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.
Both proved worthy of their early-season success; however, Megill with strikeout dominance and Canning with a knack for making big pitches to escape trouble on Tuesday, especially his slider-driven strikeout of Nick Castellanos with two outs and two runners on in the fifth inning.
“He knew what he wanted to do and he executed his pitches,” said Mendoza. “It was impressive.”
Same goes for the bullpen, which has been practically untouchable. On Tuesday, Huascar Brazoban, A.J. Minter, Ryne Stanek, and Jose Butto each delivered a scoreless inning, lowering the bullpen ERA to 2.47, third in the majors. That only pales in comparison to the starting rotation’s 2.29 ERA, which is the best in the majors despite the lack of star power.
Which brings us back to those scouts.
“I have to admit, I had my doubts about their rotation,” said one scout on Monday afternoon. “They’re doing something right over there, getting the most out of guys. But I still want to see how they do against the Phillies.”
So far, still dominant.
