On a chilly April night during which several players donned ski masks that hid half their faces from the chill, the Mets bats matched the weather. The offense was frigid, particularly when it most mattered, in going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Failures in the clutch are forgotten, though, when the opposing offense fails in and out of the clutch.
The Mets lugged baseball’s best ERA into play and smothered it even further with a 2-0 shutout of the Marlins in front of 28,630 shivering fans at Citi Field on Monday for a fifth straight win.
Kodai Senga, Danny Young, José Buttó and Ryne Stanek combined for a seven-hitter that made Marlins batters look overmatched — just like the Blue Jays often looked overmatched, as did the Marlins last week, as did the Astros in the season-opening series.
There are no guarantees that a Mets staff that is without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas and has received brilliance from its bullpen will continue rolling, but their arms have been unmatched in the game thus far.
In 10 games (seven wins), the staff has allowed 17 earned runs in 89 innings for a 1.72 ERA. When Jacob deGrom won the Cy Young in 2018, he pitched to a 1.70 ERA.
More powerful lineups than Miami’s will reveal more about the Mets, but the club should enjoy these 10 games while it can.
On Monday, Senga allowed five hits and two walks in five innings with four strikeouts, pulled after 77 pitches — the same number he reached in his first start.
But manager Carlos Mendoza’s hook looked sensible as Young (one scoreless frame), Buttó (two) and Stanek (a perfect ninth that gave a break to Edwin Díaz, who had pitched two consecutive days) had little issues navigating the middle and final innings.
Mets hitters launched two successful rallies and only needed one. In the third inning, Francisco Lindor (who finished with three hits, his final one the 1,500th of his career) reached on a gorgeous bunt down the third base line then hustled his way home on a double from Juan Soto, who knocked in his fourth run of the year.
They added insurance in the eighth, when Mark Vientos (three walks in four plate appearances) drew a walk, and pinch runner Jose Siri stole second and scored on a single from Tyrone Taylor.
