3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Get Swept By Braves, Losing Streak at 6

The New York Mets led by at least three runs in each of the games against the Atlanta Braves. They came out on the wrong side of all three of them, getting swept for the second consecutive series. The Mets now sit at 30-33 and are 8.5 games back of the Braves in the National League East. For the first time in Mets franchise history, they’ve lost three straight games in which they had at least a 3-run lead.

3 Up

Just Play the Kid

Francisco Álvarez went 3-for-9 against the Braves. All three of his hits left the yard, including two in his first career start as a designated hitter. The Mets don’t want to play Álvarez at DH because an injury to Omar Narváez would then cause the Mets to lose the extra hitter. However, having Pete Alonso out of the lineup necessitated some more thump, causing the Mets to turn to Álvarez. He rewarded them with his second multi-homer game of this season.

Álvarez did also strike out four times in the series, but he provided some spark that the Mets sorely needed in their lineup.

Marte Clawing His Way Back

Starling Marte didn’t necessarily do anything world-beating in the series, but his final line reads 4-for-13 (.308) courtesy of a three-hit game in the finale. Marte’s batting average is now up to .254 after sitting at .217 on May 11. His slugging percentage is also up to .332 after falling to .294 on May 27. Marte still has a long way to go, but perhaps he can find his way back into the conversation as a Mets table-setter.

Lindor Life?

Another slumping hitter also had a nice series at the plate. Francisco Lindor went 4-for-10 with a homer and two walks. This was a desperately-needed sign of life for the struggling shortstop, who heard boos at Citi Field over the Mets’ last homestand. Although June is historically Lindor’s worst month—he’s hit .245/.302/.435/.738 for the month in his career—perhaps he can reverse that trend and get back on track.

3 Down

Putrid Pitching

As good as the Mets’ starters were in the last turn through the rotation, they have now been equally terrible four-fifths of the next time through. After Kodai Senga did not escape the third inning on Sunday, Carlos Carrasco, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander followed him up with three absolute clunkers.

It started with Carrasco, who had given up one run through five but then imploded in the sixth. He gave up a two-run double to Sean Murphy, and Murphy was brought in as an inherited runner on a double by Marcell Ozuna against Drew Smith.

In the next game, Scherzer had a similar meltdown. He held the Braves scoreless through three before allowing a run in the fourth inning, two in the fifth, and another two in the sixth. Though he struck out 10, he also allowed 11 hits. It was yet another time that he failed against the Mets’ biggest rival.

A couple of weeks ago, I cautioned in this column that it was too early to be concerned about Verlander. No longer is that the case, though. The 40-year-old allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits in just three innings of work, walking four and striking out three. It took him an astounding 82 pitches to get through those three innings. Verlander threw a first-pitch ball to 14 of the 20 batters he faced, and five of the seven hits he allowed were hit at 99.7 mph or above. His ERA is now 4.85 through seven starts.

This issue continues to plague the Mets, and after some signs of improvement, the starting pitching has now gone backward again.

End of Vogelrope?

After another 0-for-7 series, Daniel Vogelbach is slashing .203/.343/.297 with one extra-base hit over his last 20 games. He is hitting .083/.250/.111 over his last 15 games and .179/.304/.256 over his last 30. The excuse made for Vogelbach was always that he gets on base, but he has now seemingly lost even that half-tool. Even a manager who loves Vogelbach as much as Buck Showalter will likely reach the end of his rope at some point. Considering that this was another sunk cost from Billy Eppler, that rope will likely be even longer than what Showalter would be willing to give.

More Bullpen Blowups

Another series, another bullpen meltdown. Every facet of the Mets’ team has contributed toward their losses, and the bullpen was directly responsible for all three losses despite the poor starting pitching. In the first game, it was Drew Smith who entered a 4-3 game in the sixth and, after retiring the first two batters he faced, allowed a game-tying double to Ozuna, followed by Orlando Arcia‘s go-ahead RBI single.

In the middle game, the Mets tied the game at five in the seventh inning after blowing a 4-1 lead. Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino gave it right back, as Ozuna’s double off Raley set up Michael Harris’ ultimately game-winning two-run homer off Ottavino.

In the finale, the Mets’ bullpen entered in the fourth inning with an 8-5 lead. After Stephen Nogosek escaped a jam in the fourth, he allowed a solo homer to Ozuna in the fifth before giving way to Jeff Brigham to work around a one-out double. Brigham got out of the fifth, and the Mets scored a run for the second consecutive inning to open up a 10-6 lead. However, Brigham gave it right back on two singles, sandwiching a grounder that moved the runner to second.

In the seventh, Smith entered with a runner on first and one out and induced a groundball double play from Ronald Acuña to end the inning. However, in the eighth, Smith gave up a single to Austin Riley followed by a two-run homer from Travis d’Arnaud to cut the Mets’ lead to 10-9. David Robertson relieved him and got the final two outs, but with one out in the ninth, Arcia smacked a game-tying homer.

The game went into extra innings, and when the Mets failed to score in the top of the 10th, the end of the game was nigh. Tommy Hunter, sporting a 6.00 ERA and a .779 OPS against, got two outs sandwiching a walk, but Ozzie Albies hit a walk-off three-run homer to clinch the sweep for the Braves.

Overall in the series, the Mets’ bullpen pitched 12 innings and gave up 19 hits, 12 earned runs, and five home runs. Obviously, the enormous workload has played a role, but the Mets simply cannot buy quality innings from their relief pitching. Even Robertson, who started the season strong, has worn down from numerous multi-inning appearances.

The Mets will head to Pittsburgh on Friday night (7:05 p.m. ET) to try to stop their six-game skid.