The Mets offense might be finding its groove.
As the Mets ventured to West Sacramento this weekend, runs had been tough to come by. Despite some struggles at the plate, they managed to knock timely hits, backing up quality starting pitching and a lockdown bullpen.
On Sunday when it appeared to be more of the same for the Mets, they broke out in a major way against the Athletics bullpen. The Mets erupted for eight runs over the final four innings to roll to an 8-0 victory at Sutter Health Park.
The late surge and a balanced pitching performance helped the Mets improve to 10-5 behind their third shutout. They also notched a 7-6 victory in the series opener on Friday before dropping a 3-1 result on Saturday.
All nine members of the Mets' lineup reached base in Sunday's win, including multi-hit efforts from Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Luis Torrens, while Kodai Senga turned in a quality start and A.J. Minter and Max Kranick closed down the win.
With the Mets grabbing their fourth straight series victory, here are three things that stood out heading into a three-game road series against the Twins beginning on Monday:
Kodai Senga spins Mets' best start of season
Through 14 games of the season, a criticism of the Mets' starting rotation has been their inability to go deep in games.
Senga bucked the trend in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. The 32-year-old right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out four and scattering four hits and two walks. It was the Mets' longest start of the season and Senga's lengthiest since Sept. 1, 2023.
"He attacked, threw strikes," Carlos Mendoza told reporters. "I think he filled the zone with all of his pitches. I think he got a couple of ground balls with his two-seamer for double plays, which helped. They were aggressive at times, got some quick outs and that's why he was able to go seven innings today."
Senga did not allow a hit after the bottom of the third inning. He was removed by manager Carlos Mendoza at 79 pitches. It was his first start of more than five innings this season, on the heels of a campaign in which he made just one start.
"I'd only gone to five innings previously, so I didn't really have that in mind," Senga said through an interpreter. "And within the past two years, I haven't thrown very many innings, so I thought the seventh would be my last and that was my thought going into it."
Through three starts, Senga has been one of the Mets' most reliable starters, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.06 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Luis Torrens jump-starts offensive breakthrough
Through five innings, the Mets could not get much going against former teammate Luis Severino. The Mets had three hits and one walk but still found themselves in a a scoreless tie.
It was the team's catcher, ...
