Yesterday, the Mets faced a left-handed starter for just the third time this year. They have faced Adam Conley, Brandon Finnegan, and Madison Bumgarner. In addition, the Mets have faced lefty relievers here and there. Seemingly, the Mets have struggled against lefties. 

On April 13th, Conley limited the Mets to four hits while allowing no earned runs and striking out nine over six innings. It should be noted that last year, Conley had similar success against a somewhat different Mets lineup. Last year, Conley pitched seven innings against the Mets allowing three hits, no runs, and six strikeouts.

On April 26th, Finnegan dominated the Mets over the first six innings.  In those six innings, he allowed three hits, no runs, and three strikeouts. The outing was very impressive until he was over extended in the seventh inning. In the seventh, he allowed a walk, a single, and a laser of homerun off the first pitch he threw to pinch hitter Yoenis Cespedes. Finnegan is a former first round pick and a well regarded prospect. 
On May 1st, Bumgarner got the better of Noah Syndergaard and the Mets. Bumgarner allowed six hits, two earned, two walks, and nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings. This should surprise no one. Bumgarner is one of the absolute best pitchers in the game.  It can be argued he almost single-handedly won the 2014 World Series. You’re going to have bad days against Madison Bumgarner. 

That’s the point. The Mets have faced some tough lefties. You know what’s interesting?  The Mets have hit still hit lefties in general pretty well. 

According to Baseball Reference, the Mets have hit .266/.339/.442 with a 118 OPS+ against lefties. Against righties, the Mets are hitting .254/.329/.448 with a 114 OPS+.  Looking over these numbers, the Mets are just as likely to hit righties as they are lefties. It’s easy to lose sight of that after Madison Bumgarner, a lefty, pitches well against the Mets. 

So yes, the Mets have had some struggles against three pretty good lefties. No one should read too much into those games. You can point to three different games this season the Mets struggled against three pretty good righties. Mets fans know better than anyone right now that good pitching is going to beat good hitting. 

Overall, the Mets have a good offense. There’s no reason to believe based upon these three starts the Mets can’t hit lefties. In fact, the stats show they can.  

Editor’s Note: this article was also published on mesmerizedonline.com