5 things to watch as Mets and Rangers play 3-game series in Texas

Here are five things to watch when the Mets and Rangers play a three-game series in Texas starting on Monday night...

The offense is clicking

With Francisco Lindor, J.D. Martinez, and Starling Marte all scorching hot lately -- and Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo starting to come around -- the Mets' offense is a force right now.

The Mets scored 31 runs during their five-game winning streak, continuing a stretch where they've been one of the best lineups in baseball.

Over the last 30 days, the Mets lead the majors in OPS (.781), and are third in slugging percentage (.448) and on-base percentage (.333).

That New York is hitting well shouldn't be a surprise, since their lineup is filled with lots of guys who have been above average performers during their career. It just took a bit of time for it to click.

On the strength of this recent hot stretch, the Mets have moved into the top half of MLB in runs scored and have plated more runs than teams such as the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and Rangers.

The new (old) Edwin Diaz

Diaz came back with a vengeance late last week after being activated from the IL.

He dominated the Miami Marlins on Thursday to earn his first save in roughly a month, and then gutted out a save over the San Diego Padres on Friday after a leadoff single led to a runner being in scoring position with no one out.

Along the way, Diaz has looked much more like the pitcher who dominated in 2022 than the one who struggled this May after feeling his way through April.

Diaz's fastball is again hitting 99 and 100 mph with regularity, and the velocity and bite on his slider is also improved.

Speaking after Thursday's performance, Diaz seemed relaxed and happy, talking about his uptick in velocity, how his once "heavy" shoulder is now good to go, and how he simply needed more time to round into form after missing all of 2023 due to a devastating knee injury that required surgery.

Last leg of a long, tough stretch

The Mets have had a difficult schedule over the first two and a half months of the season, including seven games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, seven against the Braves, six against the Philadelphia Phillies, and series against the division-leading Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers.

After falling 11 games under .500, they have rebounded to claw to within four games of the .500 mark (and within 1.5 games of a playoff spot). And the end of the tunnel is getting close when it comes to this brutal stretch.

The beginning of the end of it starts on Monday against the Rangers in Texas, continues with three games against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (never an easy place to play), and ends with two games against the MLB-best Yankees at Citi Field.

After that, the Mets host the still-struggling Houston Astros for three games before beginning an 18-game stretch that features four games with the Miami Marlins, three against the Colorado Rockies, four against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and seven against the Washington Nationals.

The Mets sill need to prove they're better than the pesky Nats (who they swept a three-game series from earlier this month), but that stretch could present New York with a serious opportunity to string wins together.

Dedniel Nunez continues to dominate

As the Mets' bullpen has ebbed and flowed over the last month, the one constant has been Nunez.

The 28-year old rookie is unscored upon in six of his last seven appearances, and has often been providing length.

Over his last two appearances, spanning 4.1 innings, Nunez has been literally perfect while striking out seven.

Overall this season, he has a 2.04 ERA (2.19 FIP) and 0.73 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 17.2 innings over 11 appearances -- a K rate of 13.2 per nine.

The champs are struggling

The defending World Series champions were just swept by the Mariners in a three-game series, trail Seattle by 8.5 games for first place in the AL West, and are 6.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot.

Among the reasons for the Rangers' struggles?

Adolis Garcia has a .685 OPS, Corey Seager has been scuffling in June (.688 OPS this month), and the rotation is still without Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.

While Texas tries to find its footing, Jon Gray (who starts on Monday) and offseason signing Michael Lorenzen (who gets the ball on Tuesday) are helping to keep them afloat.

Gray has a 2.17 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, while Lorenzen has a 2.86 ERA and 1.18 WHIP -- and is coming off a performance against the Dodgers in Los Angeles where he twirled seven innings of one-run ball.