Mets ace still confident in team despite rough start

Co-ace Max Scherzer insists the New York Mets can still achieve their championship goals even though they began Monday below .500 for the 2023 MLB season.

"This group can win, and we know it," Scherzer said after he helped the Mets earn an 8-2 victory against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "I think we’re all getting our footing, and we’re getting it going." 

Star shortstop Francisco Lindor expressed similar optimism after the Mets suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers in early April. New York has fallen to 20-21 and dropped series against non-contenders such as the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds. 

Scherzer, meanwhile, is dealing with lingering back/side soreness that the Mets reportedly fear he "may need to manage" throughout the season, was scratched from a start last week due to neck spasms and served a 10-game suspension related to his hands being too "sticky" during an April start. 

However, the 38-year-old was solid in his return to the bump on Sunday. He allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks across five innings of work. Scherzer improved to 3-2 on the season with a 4.88 ERA over six starts and 27.2 total innings.

"We're a good team," Scherzer added about the big-spending Mets. "There’s plenty of good teams in the league and plenty of baseball left so it'll be a fight all the way to the finish. I’m sure there are things we can say we wish we did better at, and there’s other things we have done well. It’s just continue to get in the season and get in the groove, find our rhythm, and continue to play well and win series."

New York took two of three games in Washington ahead of the series finale on Monday afternoon. Perhaps the best news for the Mets is that they began the day's MLB action just five-and-a-half games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings.