The Philadelphia Phillies are still climbing out of the hole they dug for themselves with an atrocious start to the season, and it’ll take some time for fans to start believing they’re real contenders again. That may have sucked some of the joy out of summer baseball, but if there’s one thing Phillies fans love almost as much as winning, it’s watching the New York Mets lose. There’s been a lot of that so far this year, but unfortunately for Phillies fans, the Mets have just been given a jolt of life in rookie A.J. Ewing.
The Mets have been in freefall all year, limping out to an atrocious 18-25 record that places them dead last in the National League East. Just about everything has gone wrong, as the hitters can’t hit, fielders can’t field and pitchers can’t pitch. One of the only bright spots has been superstar Juan Soto, who’s missed significant time due to injuries.
For a while the Phillies were just as bad as the Mets, as their horrifying 10-game losing streak dropped them to the division basement right alongside their hated rivals. However, the public sacrifice of Rob Thomson provided a much-needed shock to the system, and interim manager Don Mattingly’s squad has been red-hot over the last two weeks.
The same can't be said for the Mets, as they’ve continued to play terrible baseball and bury themselves in the standings. They do have a faint glimmer of hope though, with 21-year-old centerfielder A.J. Ewing coming out of the gate scorching hot.
A.J. Ewing is giving the Mets life with surprising home run pop
Ewing was called up to the big leagues on Monday to fill in for oft-injured centerfielder Luis Robert Jr., who hit the shelf in late April with a back injury. The top-ranked prospect in New York’s system profiles as a singles merchant with blazing speed and a solid glove who’ll be lucky to run into a few home runs.
The Ohio native immediately put to use his advanced hit tool, collecting a trio of knocks in his first three games, including a triple and a home run. He’s also chipped in four walks and a stolen base, and has posted an absurd 1.427 OPS to this point.
Ewing’s hot start has given the Mets a shot in the arm, as his excellent first three games also happened to be a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers. In fact, he scored the game-winning run in walk-off fashion on Wednesday,
One good three-game series does not immediately save the Mets’ season, and they still have a heck of a mountain to climb to get back to where they want to be. Still, their fans are riding high on the back of their new stud outfielder, and it looks like he’ll be around for a long time driving the Phillies crazy.
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