The Mets seem to have two completely different identities through the first two months of the season.
They’re 18-6 at Citi Field so far in 2015. While they haven’t wowed offensively at home, they’ve hit .247/.320/.379 at Citi Field with 60 extra-base hits and 79 walks with 167 strikeouts, scoring 101 runs in the process, an average of 4.2 runs per game.
On the mound, they’ve allowed only 197 hits and 47 walks with 209 strikeouts and 17 home runs in 221 innings, compiling a 2.77 team ERA in 24 games at Citi Field, allowing 3.04 runs per game.
“I think the guys have responded to positive reinforcement [from the fans],” Terry Collins explained of his team’s success at home.
The same cannot be said on the road, however. They’re 7-15 on the road so far in 2015, and the offense has been more or less anemic. They’ve hit just .223/.279/.330 with just 42 extra-base hits and 48 walks with 185 strikeouts and scoring only 67 runs, an average of only 3.05 per game.
Their pitching has also not been close to as good away from Citi Field. They’ve allowed 173 hits and 52 walks with 154 strikeouts and 23 home runs in 183 1/3 innings away from Citi Field Field, allowing 4.2 runs per game.
They’re Jekyll and Hyde, really.
They’re doing exactly what they need to do at home. Sure, a lot of their success can be attributed to their early run when they had their 10-0 homestand to open their home schedule and they’re 7-6 since at home. But, wins are wins, and they have just as many wins at home since the end of that first homestand that they do on the road all year.
It’s hard to pinpoint precisely what has caused such a glaring split for this club. The eye test says there’s certainly a different energy level in their home games.
An argument can be made the Mets haven’t played very good teams at home. That’s fair – they’ve played the Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Brewers and others (including better teams such as the Nationals and the Cardinals) at home, but they’ve played those three teams in the National League East on the road as well. Aside from the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, they didn’t play well in those games.
Ultimately, its up to the manager and the coaching staff to maintain the consistency they have here when they leave town. They play 81 games away from home – they cannot solely depend on dominating the home schedule, play horribly on the road, and expect to be in position for the playoffs in October.
It’s going to have to even itself out, especially when they’re playing the bulk of their road games against some tough opponents over the next month.
Just Mets 