Perfect homestand one for the record books
Mets roll to franchise-record-tying 11-game winning streak with 10-0 run at Citi Field
NEW YORK -- From his vantage point in the dugout, often on the top step, injured third baseman David Wright sees a Mets team bearing similarities to the 2006 club.
"Truly, we come to the ballpark every day expecting to win," Wright said after the Mets cruised to another victory without him on Thursday, this one 6-3 over the Braves to extend their winning streak to a franchise-record-tying 11. "We don't come to the ballpark hoping to win. We expect to win."
From a historian's vantage point, what the Mets are doing is perhaps more similar to 1986. That year, the team also won 11 straight games in April, starting its summer 13-3. That is exactly where the 2015 Mets stand after 16 games, capping off a perfect 10-game homestand at Citi Field.
Video: ATL@NYM: Familia closes Mets' 11th straight victory
The Mets have done plenty of remarkable things over their past 11 games, playing without Wright, catcher Travis d'Arnaud and many others. Among the most telling:
• The Mets became only the seventh team in modern Major League history to go undefeated on a homestand of at least 10 games, a feat that no club has achieved since the '91 Twins. The Mets' previous best homestand was 9-1, achieved three times.
• Four times previously the Mets have won 11 consecutive games: In 1969, '72, '86 and '90. On each occasion, they lost their 12th game. The Mets went on to win at least 91 games in three of those four seasons, winning the World Series both times they made the playoffs.
• After Thursday's game, outfielder Michael Cuddyer noted that the Mets "haven't even been clicking on all cylinders yet in offense." And it's true that pitching has carried them. The Mets are batting .273 with eight home runs during their 11-game streak, averaging 5.2 runs per game. Their pitching staff, by comparison, has compiled a 2.73 ERA with 90 strikeouts and 21 walks.
As the Mets' only link to the 2006 team that came within a whisker of the pennant, Wright also understands the value of discretion. The Mets started out hot again in '07, winning 33 of their first 50 games, but missed the playoffs on the final day of the season. They missed again the next year and haven't been the same since.
Perhaps until now. These Mets could play .500 ball the rest of the way and finish with 86 wins, enough to stay competitive until the end of the summer. But one-tenth of the way through the season, the Mets are not harboring dreams of staying competitive. They want to win. They have a taste of it now. And they want as much of it as possible.
"We talked about trying to get off to a good start," Wright said. "We talked about how we thought we had a good team in Spring Training. And so far we've done a nice job of proving that early on. There's still a lot of baseball left and we're still a fraction of the way through the season. By no means does this mean that we have this type of team or that type of team. But we talked about getting off to a good start, so when you do, that's satisfying."