NEW YORK In nine at-bats with runners in scoring position Thursday afternoon, the Mets collected one hit against the Rockies, and it was not good enough to drive in a run, as Asdrubal Cabreras dribbler to the left side was only good enough to advance Neil Walker from second base to third base in the fourth inning. The worst team in the majors at hitting with runners in scoring position, the Mets average in those situations for the season dropped to a paltry .204, 16 points lower than the next-worst team in the majors at it, the Yankees.The Mets, in general, are not a good hitting team. Their .238 cumulative average, even after pounding out 10 hits in , is the lowest in baseball. Thats not Khris Davis Jersey the full story, because New York is one of the top power teams in the game, with 131 home runs for the season, and regardle s of how you look at it, a team having a batting average with Dennis Eckersley Jersey runners in scoring position 34 points lower than its overall figure is odd. For the major leagues as a whole, batting averages are two points higher with runners in scoring position than the overall .255 mark.MORE: Ive talked to some of the great RBI guys in the game, and one thing they talk about is, driving in runs is mental, Mets manager Terry Collins said. The approach you have at the plate, your mindset, all youre trying to do is put the bat on the ball. Youre not looking for home runs, not looking for anything, just saying, Look, work the middle of the field. Thats kind of the common denominator with those guys, and were just not doing it.What the Mets have to wonder is, if they hit even their regular .238 with runners in scoring position, how many more wins might they have? Or even if they made more productive outs. Leading 1-0 in the seventh inning on Thursday, the Mets failed to score after loading the bases with nobody out. When the Rockies filled the bags with nobody out against Jeurys Familia in the ninth inning, a grounder booted by first baseman James Loney and a wild pitch resulted in the decisive runs to keep New York stuck on 53 wins.One piece of good news for the Mets is that at 53-48, they are a game better than they were at the same point a year ago, when New York also was struggling to put runs on the board in any way. The bad news is that a trade on Stephen Piscotty Jersey the level of adding Yoenis Cespedes to breathe new life into the lineup for the two-month stretch run is highly unlikely.FAGAN: A trade for some kind of bat is po sible, and with so much hinging on the mental side of the game, a fresh face in the lineup might be all the difference New York needs. Another po sibility is that the team with the majors lowest BABIP rate, indicating some truly lousy luck, just sees the bounces start to go its way.You have to be positive, said Mets catcher Rene Rivera, whose second-inning double drove in New Yorks only run on Thursday. Youve got to go out there, perform with confidence, pick up your teammates and just go have fun. Thats the bottom line. You have fun out there and youre going to score some, get some RBIs, and were going to win some games.James Loney scores the Mets’ only run, on Rene Rivera’s double. (Getty Images)If it sounds simple, thats because Glenn Hubbard Jersey it is at least, as an idea. Staying confident and having fun when you know that your team has struggled in a certain situation for four months is a much trickier proposition. Thanks to their pitching, though, the Mets dont need to score all that many runs to be in better shape.MORE: My goal is to go out there and put up zeroes, said Jacob deGrom, who did just that for seven innings Thursday, holding the Rockies to five hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Just keep us in the ballgame and give us the Oakland Athletics Jersey chance to win.Most of the time, given a lead in the ninth inning, Familia makes the most of that chance to win. He didnt on Thursday for the second straight day. Given enough chances, even closers as good as the All-Star right-hander will blow two in a row. The Mets have to hope that, given enough chances, their lineup will knock in a few more runs.
