In a little more than two weeks, the New York Mets went from comfortable division lead to the lowest of lows: A three-game sweep doled out by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Not even a players-only meeting could stop the carnage, as the Mets’ response after a Saturday night airing of grievances was a 12-1 loss at PNC Park that capped a three-game set in which Pittsburgh outscored the Mets 30-4.
Little wonder, then, that the Mets tumbled four places in USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings.
It’s hard to call this a low point since it’s merely the end of June and the Mets are just 1 ½ games behind the similarly inconsistent Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. Yet on June 12, they held a 5 ½-game lead and the confidence that injured pitchers such as Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea were coming back. Well, Montas gave up a half-dozen runs to the Pirates on Sunday and Manaea now has an elbow injury to add to his oblique recovery. And trusty fill-in Griffin Canning is now out for the year with an Achilles injury.
A look at our updated rankings:
1. Detroit Tigers (-)
- Tarik Skubal makes franchise history: 13 strikeouts and one hit over seven innings.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
- Clayton Kershaw lined up for 3,000th strikeout at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
3. Houston Astros (+4)
- They win the Tucker-Paredes-Smith Cup to cap a 25-10 stretch.
4. Chicago Cubs (-2)
- Ryan Pressly gets some home cooking in Houston as Astros regale him with old Johnny Cash intro.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (-)
- Ranger Suarez is dealing, as they say.
6. New York Yankees (-)
- Twelve runs of support a nice welcome back gift for Marcus Stroman.
7. Tampa Bay Rays (-)
- Brandon Lowe’s career-best hitting streak reaches 16 games.
8. New York Mets (-4)
- Perhaps Jesse Winker – on rehab assignment for oblique injury – can save the day.
9. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)
- The Quinn Priester joyride continues with 11-strikeout performance.
10. St. Louis Cardinals (+3)
- Sonny Gray throws first shutout since 2015 – both at Cleveland.
11. San Diego Padres (-)
- Closer Robert Suarez has hit a bump in the road.
12. Toronto Blue Jays (-)
- Dare to dream: A four-game sweep of Yankees could put them alone in first place.
13. San Francisco Giants (-5)
- They drop a series at White Sox, and Justin Verlander still seeking first win as a Giant.
14. Cincinnati Reds (+1)
- HVAC pitchman Spencer Steer keys ninth-inning rally to take Padres series. That’s pretty cool.
15. Seattle Mariners (-1)
- Big Bummer: Cal Raleigh getting Barry Bonds treatment with four intentional walks over the weekend.
16. Arizona Diamondbacks (+2)
- Kinda need to firmly clear .500 before trade activity picks up.
17. Boston Red Sox (-1)
- Walker Buehler had an 11.07 ERA in five June starts.
18. Texas Rangers (-)
- An absolutely magnetic connection to the .500 mark.
19. Cleveland Guardians (-2)
- About time to toss them in the ‘deadline sellers’ bucket.
20. Minnesota Twins (-)
- Royce Lewis once again set to return from injury.
21. Los Angeles Angels (+1)
- Mike Trout starting to muscle up a bit.
22. Atlanta Braves (+1)
- Jurickson Profar returns Wednesday from 80-game PED ban – and they could probably use him.
23. Kansas City Royals (-2)
- Just 20-24 at home.
24. Miami Marlins (+2)
- After sweeping Arizona, just a half-game behind Atlanta for third place.
25. Baltimore Orioles (-1)
- Coby Mayo finally clubs first career home run – off a position player.
26. Washington Nationals (-1)
- Fifth last-place finish in six years looking like a real possibility.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (+1)
- Rollicking sweep of Mets a fitting tribute to Dave Parker.
28. Athletics (-1)
- After seeing Rays’ sweet temporary digs in Tampa, Yolo County will look even grimmer.
29. Chicago White Sox (-)
- Luis Robert back on the IL with hamstring injury.
30. Colorado Rockies (-)
- Now 19-65, but their manager will surely show some fire.