Playoff picture out of reach for Mets, Kodai Senga’s next steps

The more The season has not gone according to plan so far.

Carlos Mendoza’s team is currently in fourth place in the NL East at 32-37 entering Sunday’s series finale. San Diego Padres. However, despite all the drama this season, the team finds itself within striking distance of a playoff spot.

Entering Sunday’s game, the Amazins were two games back of the final NL Wild Card spot. While that says more about the level of competition in the National League than the Mets have achieved, the team is playing its best baseball of the season, winning three of its last four series.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Mendoza said Sunday. “The good, the bad, the rough. As of late, obviously [we’re] Play more complete games. I don’t look at the standings, obviously, I know we have to continue to play better. You just have to take it one game at a time.

“We will be there until the end. We have a lot of good players there and there is a good feeling in this club now. So we still have a lot of baseball left. But we must continue to take care of business. “

The Mets may be on a roll, having won eight of their last 10 games before Sunday’s game. And despite the busy start to the season, there’s still plenty of baseball to be played.

BULLPEN better

The Mets’ bullpen has regained its swagger.

After a rough few weeks for the Mendoza stable, the unit has played a huge role in getting the club back on track in recent weeks. Thanks in large part to the resounding return of the trumpets.

“Now this [Edwin Diaz] It’s a good feeling to be back,” Mendoza said before Sunday’s series finale against the Padres. “I wouldn’t say [the bullpen was] Press it, but it’s contagious. When you go through a slump offensively, guys try to do a little bit more, defensively we go through the ups and downs. And the pitching staff will feel it, too. They feed each other. “

Diaz has played in two games since returning from the injured list on June 13. The right-hander threw two scoreless innings and struck out three. The overall numbers aren’t pretty — a 4.91 ERA in 22 games — but Diaz has looked much closer to his dominant form in 2022 than he did before his shelf life.

SENGA update

Kodiai Senga This week he will take another step in his rehabilitation. The Mets’ ace will once again throw up and down on Wednesday and try to take the next level against opponents, Mendoza said Sunday.

Senga continues to work his way back from a right shoulder capsule strain that has prevented him from throwing a single pitch this season. The 31-year-old was unable to capitalize on his impressive rookie season in 2023. The NL Rookie of the Year runner-up posted a 2.98 ERA in 29 games last season.

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