3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Fail To Sweep White Sox

The New York Mets couldn’t go for the kill against the White Sox.

Having carved out a four-game winning streak, including taking the first two from Chicago, the Mets dropped the series finale at Citi Field.

It wasn’t a straightforward series win by any means, and clinching the sweep would have been ideal. But, still, the Mets did what they had to do and are now 12 games over .500.

To that end, let’s dive into another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

LEADING THE WAY

After a historic start to the year, Pete Alonso has cooled down somewhat as of late. He’s been part of the problem as it pertains to the top of the lineup not producing. However, the slugging first baseman enjoyed a productive series against the White Sox. He hit a home run in the middle game of the series, driving in two runs and scoring a run. Then, in the finale, Alonso recorded an RBI double in the ninth inning on an otherwise quiet day for the offense. Hopefully, this series acts as the spark to get Alonso really going again.

FEEL-GOOD STORY

Injuries meant that the Mets had to call up reinforcements over the weekend. Enter Jared Young. The veteran journeyman signed with the Mets in the offseason after spending some time in the KBO. He had been raking at Triple-A and earned the right to show what he could do in the bigs. He didn’t disappoint. Young enjoyed a 2-for-3 night on Tuesday, hitting a two-run home run and a double, finishing with two RBIs and a run scored in the win. With Jesse Winker still out injured, Young has a real opportunity to stick around and offer some production from the DH spot. He certainly showed what he is capable of on Tuesday.

CLUTCH PITCHING

The Mets didn’t exactly blow out the White Sox over this three-game series. They needed some clutch pitching to help get the job done. Clay Holmes allowed just one run in his outing in the opener, before the bullpen closed it out with 3.1 scoreless innings of relief. Then, on Tuesday, Reed Garrett came in and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings to secure the win and his second save of the year. With the offense struggling, still, shutdown pitching was crucial, and that’s exactly what New York got in the two wins.

3 DOWN

REGRESSION TO THE MEAN

There is no doubt that Griffin Canning was one of the early success stories of the 2025 season for the Mets. Arguably a below-average pitcher before getting to Queens, Canning was sprinkled with the David Stearns magic dust and emerged as one of the team’s best starters through the first two or so months of the year. However, Canning has shown recent signs of looking like the pitcher we all thought he was. He lasted just three innings in the finale, allowing five runs – three earned – on four hits and four walks. As a result, he’s now allowed a total of eight earned runs on 12 hits and nine walks across 10.3 innings in his last three starts. Let’s hope this is just a minor skid for Canning, instead of something more sinister.

(NOT) GOING FOR THE KILL

Yes, the Mets took two out of three to win the series. Yes, they are 12 games over .500, and yes, they were riding a four-game winning streak before Wednesday’s loss. However, with all that said, this team really should be looking to sweep against weaker teams like the White Sox. Given how great the Phillies look, not to mention the fact that the Braves are bound to improve, every win will be crucial in the divisional race. As such, the Mets need to take full advantage of softer parts of the schedule and go for the kill against teams like the White Sox and the Rockies. In this instance, they just couldn’t finish the job.

SOMETHING NEEDS TO GIVE

Here we go again. We are back talking about the Mets’ ever-growing struggles with runners in scoring position. The inability to cash in with runners on cost them in the series finale. New York went 2-for-12 with RISP, leaving 11 runners stranded on base. Despite having drawn five walks in the first 3.2 innings of the game – eight overall – the offense just couldn’t drive home enough runs required to win the game. Heck, they went a combined 2-for-13 in the first two games of the series, leaving 18 runners on base. And we’ve now reached the point of the year when it is okay to start to panic about this team’s woes with RISP. Especially when you consider that Juan Soto (.130), Francisco Lindor (.180), and Mark Vientos (.146) have all really struggled to produce with runners on. At some point, the pitching is going to regress, and the RISP issues will really start to take a toll. Something has to change, and fast.

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