All or nothing. That’s one way to describe the New York Mets’ plate approach this season. In some ways, that approach has paid off, as the Mets are among the best home run hitting teams in baseball, which is even more impressive considering the amount of time David Wright, Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud have spent on the DL this season. However, the downside of that approach is that New York’s situational hitting has been atrocious this season, and by far their biggest weakness.

The Mets are dead last in all of baseball when it comes to hitting with runners in scoring position, and it isn’t even close. They are also well below average when it comes to scoring a base runner from third base with less than two outs, an important hitting situation, especially in the National League. This shows an inability by the Mets to adjust to game situations, which has become a huge factor in the team’s offensive struggles overall.

With so much emphasis on power and such poor situational hitting, the Mets are essentially an American League team trying to play in the National League. New York simply moves base by base, hoping to eventually hit a home run, instead of trying to play small ball, advance hitters and score runs without the long ball. It’s why they are third in the National League in home runs but third from last in total runs, a stat that is unacceptable.

With one of the best starting rotations in baseball, as well as a reliable bullpen that can close out games late, the Mets need to be better at manufacturing runs. Going all out for home runs while sacrificing situational hitting is hurting the team, especially with so many key players missing time this year due to injury. At some point, the Mets will need to find other ways to score runs aside from the long ball, or their 2016 season will end in disappointment.