Overall, it was mission accomplished in Detroit for the New York Mets.

They took two out of three from the Tigers, who are now the second-best team in the American League. However, another bad outing from a struggling reliever ensured a series sweep was a bridge too far.

Nonetheless, the Mets rebounded from an embarrassing series loss to the Marlins and took care of business against a very good Detroit team. That isn’t to be sniffed at.

So, with that in mind, let’s recap all the good and all the bad from the Tigers series in the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP
HERO BALL

Juan Soto is now becoming everything the Mets have wished for and so much more. The superstar hitter has been on an absolute heater as of late. He’s also made a habit of coming up in big spots and putting this team on his shoulders. Just look at his body of work in the Detroit series. Soto enjoyed his biggest day to date in a Mets uniform on Monday, posting six RBIs with a homer and a triple. That included a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning. For someone who has struggled with runners on base all year, that was a huge moment.

Soto also hit another homer on Tuesday, while he reached base twice and scored a run in the series finale on Wednesday. All in all, the star is hitting .417/.576/.1.125/.1.701 with 12 RBIs over his last seven games. This is the version of Soto the Mets have been waiting for.

GUTS & HEART

We’ve marveled at Nolan McLean‘s filthy stuff and high ceiling. And, thanks to his outing on Tuesday, we were able to see a different side to his game. The rookie struggled out of the gate, giving up a pair of runs in the first inning. Going up against one of the best teams in baseball, it looked set to be a long night. Instead, McLean put on his big boy pants and displayed a boatload of toughness and mental fortitude on the mound. He didn’t allow another run after that first inning, making adjustments on the fly to still give his team six innings. It was yet another tantalizing sign of McLean’s maturity and overall poise. He looks like a battle-hardened veteran out there, and it is impressive. In a rotation that is full of question marks, McLean is quickly becoming the one sure thing.

STEPPING UP

Not for the first time, Luis Torrens has really delivered with Francisco Alvarez out of the lineup. That was certainly the case in Detroit. Torrens came up with a couple of monster hits in huge spots, further underlining his value to this team. The first of those hits came in the opener on Monday. He came up with a two-run double in the top of the second inning to give his team the lead, finishing the day 3-for-3. Then, the following day, Torrens really came up clutch with a game-changing three-run homer in the fourth to set the tone and start a five-run inning. The offense never looked back following Torrens’ big-time home run. As a result, he’s now hitting .353/.389/.765 over his last six games. Torrens has really provided the Mets with some high-end stability behind the plate.

Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

3 DOWN
TRADE DEADLINE BUST

The Ryan Helsley experiment has not been a good one. The veteran reliever has struggled greatly since being acquired at the trade deadline. Those struggles only continued in Detroit. After allowing a run on Monday, Helsley was trusted to pitch in a big spot in the finale on Wednesday. Coming into a one-run game, Helsley gave up a three-run home run to blow the game wide open and effectively seal the loss for the Mets. Now, you can certainly question Carlos Mendoza‘s decision to put Helsley in the game with his team trailing by just a run. Regardless, Helsley just looks broken and he’s now allowed 14 earned runs in just 11 innings as a Met. To put that into some context, 13.6% of Helsley’s earned runs and 3.5% of his career innings pitched have come in a Mets uniform. And at this point, the veteran just isn’t pitchable anymore.

RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS

What do you do with Sean Manaea? The lefty just doesn’t look like the same pitcher right now. He struggled yet again in his latest outing on Monday, giving up five earned runs in just 3.2 innings. That included a pair of homers. Consequently, Manaea has now allowed a total of 19 earned runs in his last five outings alone. He’s failed to pitch beyond the fifth inning in any of those starts. We’re in the final month of the regular season now and Manaea is only heading in one direction. The Mets will need stellar pitching in order to go on a deep run in October. Manaea figuring it out will be key to that.

OFF DAY

Wednesday’s loss proved to be frustrating all around. One mistake from the bullpen ultimately proved to be the difference. However, with the Mets trailing by just one run heading into the seventh inning, the offense also has to take some of the blame. The lineup went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine runners stranded on base. There were opportunities, including a bases-loaded situation in the sixth. However, Starling Marte swung on the first pitch he saw and grounded out into an inning-ending double play. That summed up the offense’s day.