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Palladino: Mets' Bats Are Waking Up, But Can It Last?

By Ernie Palladino
» More Ernie Palladino Columns

For most teams, there is nothing like scoring runs in bunches.

For the Mets, there WAS nothing like scoring runs in bunches. Not until the last couple of games, that is.

Now, nobody should get too excited over their latest offensive eruption. These are the Mets after all. They have proved over the years that they are more than capable of falling into the same trend that saw them score fewer than three runs in 13 of the 18 games that preceded this wonderful two-game stretch against Milwaukee.

Between Saturday's 10-run outburst in the fourth and the three runs they put up in the fourth Sunday in supporting Noah Syndergaard's first career win, the Mets gave their fans at least one offensively hopeful weekend in a year that has lacked such occasions. Major League Baseball's 20th-rated home run hitting squad blasted out four homers between the 14-1 and 5-1 wins, with Curtis Granderson hitting two.

And wouldn't you know it, Wilmer Flores hit the grand slam that triggered Saturday's big, 32-minute, 15-batter inning. Amid all the talk flying around about firming up the middle defense, Flores at least for now cemented his spot with his season's sixth blast.

Granderson's seventh-inning homer that game merely allowed the Mets to pile on. But, with Syndergaard pitching the next day, the free swinger staked the rookie call-up to a lead with his second leadoff homer this season, and his fourth overall.

With Syndergaard holding fast until an eventful sixth, which saw him knock Carlos Gomez out of the game with a 97-mph fastball to the head while giving up his only run, the offense had a chance to piece together a healthy lead on Lucas Duda's RBI double in the third and three runs in the fourth on Eric Campbell's RBI single and Michael Cuddyer's two-run single.

It wasn't the power show of the previous game, but at least it afforded Terry Collins' mind a well-needed rest after an inoffensive five-game losing streak. No wonder his team collectively pondered, "Where's this been?" during the Saturday onslaught.

That the Mets need to continue this trend hardly qualifies as earthshaking news. With their NL East lead down to a game over Washington, it doesn't take a mathematical whiz to figure out that the fast-arriving Nationals will overtake them within a couple or three offensive fizzles. And, no, it no longer matters that Collins would have signed twice over in spring training to have his team in its current situation. Expectations have risen now. A precipitous fall from their yearly weakness will not have the faithful shrugging it off with an "It was fun while it lasted" attitude.

Yet, avoiding an offensive face-plant will be harder than it seems. The injuries -- most recently Dilson Herrera's broken finger while taking a throw during pregame drills -- are mounting. David Wright continues to break down during his rehab and is not close to rejoining the roster.

The phones are ringing at Triple-A Las Vegas for reinforcements like Eric Campbell.

Still, they must find a way. A pitching staff can't continually operate on one-run margins and survive over the long haul. The Mets proved that over the past several years. Even Syndergaard's commanding three-hit, five-strikeout performance Sunday offers no guarantee that the rookie will thrive, especially if he does replace the injured Dillon Gee permanently.

They all need run support -- Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese, the bullpen -- the whole lot of them. Not 14 runs per game, but certainly five. That will give starters and relievers both a bit of breathing room.

Besides, it's fun to put up the crooked numbers. It's fun to lose a few balls in the stands.

The Mets had fun the last couple of days.

Now, they have to keep the good times rolling.

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