The New York Mets were able to close the book on the first half of the 20025 MLB season with a series win.

Despite failing to clinch the sweep, New York took two out of three from the Royals in Kansas City. As a result, the Mets head into the All-Star break with a 55-42 record. Furthermore, they’ve won seven of their past 11 games and three of the past four series.

We will be taking stock of the first half in a special 3 Up, 3 Down on Tuesday, but for now, let’s recap everything from the series in Kansas City…

Jul 13, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea (59) pitches during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

3 UP
RETURN OF THE KINGS

There wasn’t a lot to get excited about in the series finale on Sunday. However, seeing Sean Manaea make his long-awaited return was a welcome boost for everyone connected with the Mets. The lefty replaced Clay Holmes and proceeded to allow one earned run on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over 3.1 innings. Yes, Manaea did allow the winning run that prevented New York from sweeping the series. Other than that, however, Manaea showed a lot of promise in his 2025 debut. The Mets will now hope that the veteran can build on that and carve out a successful second half.

Manaea wasn’t the only key piece of the rotation to have made his return this past weekend. Kodai Senga also made his comeback on Friday, giving the Mets their top two pitching weapons back. Senga’s return was a successful one as he delivered four shutout innings on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Now, granted, the right-hander did face a boatload of traffic in his first start back, but he was able to navigate through that adversity and come through unscathed. Being able to tough out an outing even when you don’t have your best stuff is the hallmark of a great pitcher. Now back, Senga is a real X-Factor for the Mets as we get ready for the second half. If he can stay healthy and continue to pitch at a Cy Young level, then this rotation will be in good shape.

UPWARDS TRAJECTORY

The weekend series in Kansas City provided the Mets with a slew of positives on the starting rotation front. Not only did Senga and Manaea make successful returns, but Frankie Montas continued to look really good. The right-hander was lights out in his start on Saturday. He allowed just one run on four hits with five strikeouts across five innings. It was easily his best start of the year. Montas’ stuff looked incredibly sharp, all of his pitches were working, and he gave his offense a solid platform to build on. All in all, Montas has looked better and better with each start he’s made. As a result, he’s now on a positive upward trajectory heading into the All-Star break. If he can continue improving with every start, then this rotation could look formidable once again.

STAYING HOT, HOPE & MILESTONES

We’re going to finish off this section with three positives in one. Because, well, why not? Let’s start with Mark Vientos. The third baseman has been mired in an all-time slump for all of 2025. Those struggles continued when he struck out with the bases loaded in the third inning of Friday’s opener. However, when offered a shot at redemption in the eighth, Vientos took it. The slumping slugger hit a three-run, bases-clearing double to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. It was without doubt the biggest hit of the entire year for Vientos. He followed that up by going a combined 3-for-7 in the final two games of the series, including hitting a triple on Sunday. Hopefully, the heroics on Friday unlocked something for Vientos, who will need to hit like he did in 2024 in the second half of 2025.

Elsewhere, Juan Soto stayed hot with two home runs, three runs scored, three RBIs, and two walks in this series. Soto now has 23 home runs at the All-Star break, matching the previous career-high he set at the halfway mark last year with the Yankees. Finally, Francisco Lindor made some history by recording the 200th stolen base of his career on Saturday. Consequently, he joined an exclusive club, becoming just the third shortstop in MLB history to tally 200 stolen bases and 200 home runs. Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins are the other members of that prestigious club.

Clay Holmes (35) Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

3 DOWN
RIGHT BACK ON THE IL

This has been a frustrating period for Jesse Winker. As soon as he returned from the IL, he was back on it again. It was announced prior to the series opener against the Royals that Winker was put back on the IL with lower back inflammation. The veteran will be treated with medication over the next several days before being reevaluated. Having already missed two months with a strained oblique, Winker will no doubt be unhappy that he’s back on the shelf again. It also isn’t great news for the Mets. Winker’s bat is needed in the middle of that lineup, especially considering how inconsistent the offense has been so far. Hopefully, the All-Star break will be the tonic Winker needs to get himself right and healthy in time for the second half.

LOAD MANAGEMENT

One of the biggest Mets storylines heading into the second half will be Clay Holmes. More specifically, how the Mets will manage the reliever-turned-starter in the second half and down the stretch. In his latest start on Sunday, Holmes pitched well, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk over five innings. Heading into the break, the righty has now pitched 103 1/3 innings. His previous career-high for innings pitched in a season was 70 in 2021. Therefore, the Mets are going to have to walk an incredibly fine line with Holmes and the innings he pitches the rest of the way.

FINISHING SLOW

Once again, the Mets failed to sweep a series, and once again, the offense was to blame. The lineup went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners stranded on base. It was the fourth time in five games that the Mets had failed to score at least four runs. Furthermore, New York is now averaging 4.39 runs per game, which ranks 14th in Major League Baseball. We are now at the All-Star break, and we’re still waiting for this offense to really come alive on a consistent basis. The continued struggles with RISP should be raising major alarms inside the front office. This offense needs to figure it out, and fast.