The Mets head into Citi Field on Monday night with a familiar face in the visiting dugout and a lot to sort through after the Subway Series. Baltimore arrives for a three-game set, and while the Orioles’ record sits at 72-78, they’re still hanging around the Wild Card picture at four games back, with two teams standing between them and the final spot now held by the Guardians.
New York is coming off a 1-2 series against the Yankees, and the frustration wasn’t just in the losses. Friday’s game was loaded with the kind of mistakes that linger: Nolan McLean had a rough outing, Juan Soto let a catchable fly ball fall in front of him for a run, and the whole night kept swinging between brief rallies and avoidable problems. Then came the 2-0 loss to Cam Schlittler, which itself wasn’t embarrassing so much as irritating because the Mets managed only three hits and never really threatened the Yankees bullpen.
There’s also Pete Alonso, because of course there is. His name is about to dominate the conversation for three straight days, and that’s not exactly new territory.
The simple version of the argument is this: his game may age less gracefully than some others, but he meant enough to the Mets that they should have pushed harder to keep him. The bat would have mattered during the cold spells earlier this season, and the nights just don’t feel the same without him.
There’s a little milestone watch attached to the series, too. Alonso and Francisco Lindor are each one home run away from 300 for their careers, and it would be a neat moment if both reached it in the same game. It would also give Alonso a chance to hit that mark in front of the fans who watched most of those homers leave the park in the first place.
Baltimore, though, has its own issues. The Orioles are 3-7 over their last 10 games, and every club ahead of them in the Wild Card race has been at least .500 over that same stretch.
If they’re going to make a run, the performance has to improve, and they’re not exactly catching a Mets club that’s been mailing it in. New York has been solid in the second half and may be a tougher out than Baltimore would prefer.
The series opener Monday night features Jonah Tong against Brandon Young, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. EDT on SNY.
Tong’s 2026 line reads 15.0 innings, 14 strikeouts, 8 walks, 2 home runs, a 4.80 ERA, a 4.77 FIP, and a 117 ERA-. In his only start since his most recent call-up, he worked five innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out seven.
The rough patch came in the second inning, when he gave up a single, a walk, a triple, and a home run. Outside of that frame, he allowed just one hit in each of the other innings and kept Miami from getting comfortable.
His stock may have dipped since last season’s debut, but he’s starting to look like someone who can absorb damage and keep his club in the game.
Young has had a much better 2026 season: 140.2 innings, 112 strikeouts, 50 walks, 20 home runs, a 3.71 ERA, a 4.51 FIP, and a 91 ERA-. He’s been sitting around the 3.5 ERA mark for most of the year and usually gives Baltimore decent length.
His last outing, though, was a mess. He didn’t get out of the fourth inning, and Cleveland tagged him for six runs on eight hits and two walks.
Tuesday’s matchup sends Sean Manaea to the mound against Shane Baz at 7:10 p.m. EDT on SNY.
Manaea’s 2026 season has been all over the map. He opened looking like a candidate to be designated for assignment, then worked his way into looking like he belonged, and now may be drifting back toward DFA territory again.
Over his last five starts, he’s given up at least four earned runs each time, and he has only reached the seventh inning once in that span. At this point in the season, and at this point in his career, it’s tough to know what’s left.
Baz enters with 169.0 innings, 150 strikeouts, 58 walks, 14 home runs, a 4.05 ERA, a 3.54 FIP, and a 99 ERA-. He had his roughest second-half outing last week against the Guardians, when he couldn’t finish the sixth and surrendered two homers on the way to five earned runs.
Even so, Baltimore has mostly gotten steady work from him. He has only three starts without at least five innings, and both his walk rate and home run rate are down from his career norms.
The strikeouts are a little lighter than ideal, but the overall package has still been useful.
Wednesday’s game brings old friend Chris Bassitt back to Queens against the Mets’ Bob Stock. Stock has thrown 30.1 innings with 29 strikeouts, 15 walks, 2 home runs, a 5.93 ERA, a 3.93 FIP, and a 144 ERA-.
The story has been surprisingly positive, even if there’s still plenty of reason to think this whole thing was a gamble. He’s been consistently solid aside from one disaster outing against the Brewers, and he’s squeezing everything he has left out of his arm.
Bassitt, meanwhile, comes in at 90.1 innings, 66 strikeouts, 36 walks, 10 home runs, a 4.88 ERA, a 4.58 FIP, and a 120 ERA-. He was excellent for the Mets in 2022, but this version is a different pitcher entirely: older, wilder, and less effective. That doesn’t make the reunion any less notable, but it does make the matchup look like it could be rough on both sides.
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From there, the winter plan gets even more complicated. The Mets are being linked to a wish list that includes pitchers Tarik Skubal and Adrian Morejon, infielder Luis Arraez, and even a trade designed to shed a bad contract in exchange for a right-handed first baseman. It is the kind of roster-building puzzle that could spark a real debate inside the organization, because each move would help in one area while forcing the club to make another choice it might not be eager to confront. [Read more 🡒]