The Mets‘ woes continued on Saturday as they dropped another game to the Pittsburgh Pirates in blowout fashion, losing 9-2. New York has now lost 12 of their last 15 games.
Here are the takeaways…
-A day after getting embarrassed offensively and scoring just one run in a lopsided loss, New York returned with a vengeance and got straight to work in the first inning against Pirates starter Bailey Falter. The Mets hit some ropes against the lefty, starting off with Francisco Lindor‘s leadoff double. Funny enough, the softest hit ball of the inning, a Juan Soto single that snuck through the drawn-in infield, was the one to drive in a run.
-The Mets had a chance to tack on in the inning with runners on second and third, but Starling Marte struck out to end the inning. Still, the second inning saw some more traffic after Luis Torrens singled and Lindor walked with two outs. Suddenly, New York had another opportunity to do damage, but the momentum gained was cut short as the game was paused for a rain delay.
-Following an 89-minute delay, the Mets’ offense went back out there but, now facing RHP Braxton Ashcraft, they couldn’t re-capture the energy they had before the rain came and the inning ended without a run.
-Meanwhile, New York’s starter, Paul Blackburn (who pitched a scoreless first inning with two strikeouts on 17 pitches) surprisingly came back out to start the second inning, highlighting the Mets’ need for length from their starting pitchers right now. The decision backfired, though, as the right-hander allowed five straight singles before exiting the game with the bases loaded and his team down 2-1.
–Jose Buttó came in to clean up Blackburn’s mess and did well by allowing just one run to score on a sac fly. Buttó was put in even more danger in the inning after a catcher’s interference loaded the bases yet again. But the right-hander escaped untouched with a strikeout and groundout.
-As for Blackburn, perhaps he got unlucky with the rain and the decision to send him back out to the mound, but his final line was not pretty: 1+ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K. It raised his ERA to 7.71.
-New York’s bullpen, particularly Brandon Waddell, stepped up in a big way after Blackburn’s departure. After Buttó ended up going two scoreless innings,Waddell pitched the bulk of the game with his three innings of work. The left-hander struck out three and gave up one hit on 38 pitches (25 strikes) to keep his team in the game as he continues to impress every chance he gets. He now has a 2.45 ERA (0.95 WHIP) in 14.2 innings.
-Offensively, the rain delay took the wind out of the Mets’ sails and their struggles with RISP are still prevalent. They were able to get closer in the fifth on Brandon Nimmo‘s RBI single that drove in Pete Alonso who doubled right before to cut the deficit to 3-2. Alonso and Nimmo each finished with two hits. Overall, though, New York went 2-for-8 with RISP and left nine runners on base.
-After Reed Garrett pitched a perfect seventh, Huascar Brazoban entered the eighth to try and keep it a one-run game and give New York a chance. But Brazoban’s recent struggles continued after he gave up two hits and walked two more in 0.1 innings — he’s now walked 10 batters in his last 4.0 IP.
-Brazoban left with the bases loaded and Colin Poche, called up on Friday and making his season debut for the Mets, couldn’t help him out, allowing all three inherited runners to score. Brazoban’s ERA has ballooned to 3.83 after spending so much of the season below 1.00.
-Pittsburgh scored six runs in the nightmare eighth inning and has outscored New York, 18-3, in two games so far. The Mets will hope to salvage the series finale on Sunday.
-Manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. The ejection wasn’t enough to spark his team.
Game MVP: Ke’Bryan Hayes
Hayes finished 2-for-4 and both of his hits came in key spots for his team, producing the go-ahead run in the second inning and pulling them ahead with another run-scoring hit in the eighth which started the avalanche.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets finish their three-game series against the Pirates with a Sunday matinee starting at 1:35 p.m.
RHP Frankie Montas (0-0, 0.00 ERA), makes his second start of the season and will be opposed by RHP Mike Burrows (1-2, 4.45 ERA).
