After the Mets' 8-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night at Wrigley Field, manager Carlos Mendoza and players spoke about the bullpen and Brett Baty's performance…
Mets bullpen continues to come up clutch
Mets starters have not given the bullpen any breaks for most of the season, but although length has not been had, the relievers have come up clutch of late.
In Thursday's win over the Cubs, Nolan McLean could only give the Mets 5.1 innings and the bullpen had to get the final 11 outs. Similar to Tuesday's win, the bullpen was dominant, not allowing a run over the final 3.2 innings that they had to pitch. Going up against a high-powered offense like the Cubs was no easy task and the bullpen was up for the challenge.
"They’ve been through ups and downs, but they were able to bounce back," Mendoza said. "We’ve been asking a lot of them…We’re going to continue to rely on those guys. They know where we’re at. They know where we’re at and they’ll continue to ask for the baseball."
Brett Baty playing like an everyday player
Arguably, the biggest hit of the night came off the bat of Brett Baty. With the team up 3-0, Baty took southpaw Shota Imanaga deep for a three-run shot that gave the Mets a six-run cushion that they would not relinquish.
The three-run blast proved to be the difference on Thursday, but it wasn't just the offense that impressed Mendoza. In the third, Baty made a nifty barehanded play that helped McLean finish the inning.
"It’s pretty impressive," Mendoza said of Baty's growth this season. "It hasn’t been easy for him, but he feels like he’s an everyday player at this level. The defense at third, defense at second base, but some of the left-on-left at-bats, like what we saw today. Confident player now, having good results, playing with joy and with confidence."
Baty went 2-for-4 with that three-run blast on Thursday and is now hitting .289 with an OBP of .333 and slugging .533 over his last 15 games. But it's his numbers against left-handers that's pretty impressive. He's slashing .247/.301/.377with an OPS of .678, which isn't that much lower than when he takes on right-handers.
"I think just hanging in there, not trying to do too much with them," Baty said of his success against lefties of late. "And really just trying to stay on the slider [of Imanaga] there."
Brett Baty barehand!!! pic.twitter.com/DjBOqnSNHh
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2025
Francisco Lindor joins 30-30 club
Lindor joined the offensive barrage with a solo shot, his 30th of the season.
The blast allowed the Mets shortstop to reach 30 homers and 30 stolen bases this year, the second time he's done it in his career. The milestone had more significance when looking at the entire 2025 Mets team. He and Juan Soto are just the third pair of teammates to have 30-30 seasons at the same time, joining Dante Bichette and Ellis Burks of the 1996 Rockies and Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry of the 1987 Mets.
It's also the first time in franchise history that three players have had 30 home runs in the same season, joining Soto and Pete Alonso.
"Pretty impressive. Not easy to do," Mendoza said. "Elite players, guys at the top of the lineup all year. Lindor today reaching 30 homers to go along with 30 stolen bases is pretty impressive. Goes to show the type of players we have here and they’ve been caring us the whole year. They’ll continue to lean on those guys and they will step up."
Lindor didn't make too much of his milestone but chose to praise Soto and Alonso for being the best at what they do.
"I’m blessed to be around good teammates, good people who are elite and at the top of what they do," Lindor said.
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