In today’s newsletter: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, some wild stats, and an update from down on the farm.
The Same As It Ever Was
However close the Mets seem to be to making a legitimate breakthrough as a team, they routinely self-sabotage in some way, shape or form. Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks was a great chance for the Mets to show they were in fact a changed team, one that could win a series and potentially string together some momentum and positive feelings going forward.
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Instead, it wound up being yet another brutal loss that should have been a resounding victory. Jake Diekman — pressed into closer duty as Carlos Mendoza tried to mix and match with a brutally underperforming bullpen — gave up a double and home run to the first two batters he faced in the 9th, blowing a one-run lead and sending the Mets to a come-from-ahead 5-4 loss. The all-too-often May formula repeated itself on the second day of June.
The day did not start well for José Quintana, who allowed solo home runs to two of the first three batters he faced: Ketel Marte leading off and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The home run ball has been a major issue for Quintana lately; he has given up eight dingers in his last five starts after only conceding three in his first seven starts. He allowed only five home runs in 75 2/3 innings last season.
He allowed a third run in 2nd after — you guessed it — issuing a lead-off walk to Eugenio Suárez, followed by a Blaze Alexander double and Kevin Newman RBI groundout. Quintana faced lots of traffic throughout his abbreviated four-inning starts, be it from hits (four), walks (three) or hit-by-pitches (two). He was not sharp after three decent starts against good offenses in the Phillies, Guardians and Dodgers.
The Mets would pick him up in the 3rd, though, putting together a four-run two-out rally against Brandon Pfaady. With Tyrone Taylor at second after a double and new Met Luis Torrens at first after a walk, Pete Alonso ripped a base hit to left to get New York on the board. He was followed by back-to-back triples from Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez that gave the Mets a 4-3 lead, even though Martinez was stranded at third.
Unfortunately, that would be the sum total of the Mets’ offense. They managed just two base-runners the rest of the day. That wouldn’t have been a problem if Diekman could get the job done in the 9th because the rest of New York’s bullpen was spotless.
Quintana was lifted after his four shaky innings and the ragtag group of Dedniel Nuñez, Danny Young, Reed Garrett and Adam Ottavino tossed four scoreless frames, striking out nine batters in the process. Mendoza then turned to Diekman for the 9th instead of extending Ottavino for another inning and it fell apart.
Gabriel Moreno led off with a double to bring up Marte, who had gotten on base in all four of his previous plate appearances on the day. Turned around to his better right side against lefty Diekman — Marte has a 1.000+ OPS as a righty on the season — he destroyed a 2-2 sweeper that curved right into his low-and-in wheelhouse, sending it far into the center field batter’s eye. The Citi Field crowd was stunned into silence, not out of surprise but out of resignation.
The Mets went down in order in the bottom of the inning against Paul Sewald and, just like that, what could have been a signature win became an all-too-common defeat for this team that refuses to do itself any favors.
What To Note
New York had four hits in the 4th inning and one hit in the other eight innings. Rough games from Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil and way too many strikeouts (12) as a team. As we have seen repeatedly, you cannot get enough insurance runs with how the relievers have pitched over the past month. This team seems to be unable to put together whole-game offensive performances, for whatever reason.
On a positive note, Nuñez and Young continue to shine. Both of them should get high-leverage opportunities because pretty much no one else can be trusted at this point. Nuñez is striking out almost two batters per inning and Young has yet to allow an earned run. At this point, the Mets have nothing to lose by trying them out in big moments.
The Mets had one triple in their first 56 games before Starling Marte cleared the bases with his three-bagger on Friday night. Then, Nimmo and Martinez had back-to-back triples in the 3rd inning of yesterday’s game…and it was still wasn’t enough for New York. Baseball is some game.
Per SNY, the Mets have now lost six games they have led after eight innings since May 1st. The next-highest total for any team during that time period is only two such losses.
While it was another disastrous day for the big league club, the Mets’ minor league teams had a very promising Sunday with all four full-season affiliates (Syracuse, Binghamton, Brooklyn and St. Lucie) winning their games. Brett Baty smacked a pair of home runs in his first game with Syracuse after his recent demotion while Joey Lucchesi tossed five scoreless innings for the S-Mets.
In Binghamton, fast-moving pitching prospect Brandon Sproat was magnificent, lowing his ERA to 1.38 ERA with seven shutout innings in which he struck out 10 and allowed only one hit and one walk. His fastball reportedly hit 102 mph on the radar at one point. Plus, Álvarez had another successful rehab game at catcher and top hitting prospect Ryan Clifford smacked his second home run. At least good things are happening somewhere in the organization.
Looking Ahead
The Mets take on the Nationals for the first time this season, heading down to D.C. for a three-game series starting tonight at 6:45 p.m. SNY has the broadcast.
Tylor Megill — after seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers last week — faces off against lefty Mackenzie Gore, who has been awesome all season for Washington. He’s striking out 11 batters per nine innings and has a sub-3.00 ERA.
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