Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets loaded their lineup with right-handers on Sunday hoping to tack on early runs against converted Phillies starter Ranger Suarez. Instead, the Mets failed to score until the ninth and lost their third-straight game 5-3.
Philadelphia now leads the NL East by 1.5 games and holds a seven-game win streak. The Mets have just two wins since the trade deadline. Their main deadline acquisition, Javier Baez, fits right into the lineup with his struggles.
Mets rookie Tylor Megill started. Megill has the worst outing of his career earlier this week in Miami. Megill was one out away from holding the Phillies to one run through five but unraveled with two gone in the fifth.
Megill retired the first nine batters he faced, striking out four. Odubel Herrera recorded the first hit with a lead-off double in the fourth. Herrera would fail to score after a bunt pop out, a flyout from Bryce Harper, and a J.T. Realmuto strikeout.
The fifth inning for Megill started and ended rough. Brad Miller took an 83 mile per hour changeup from the righty out of the park to right center field. Alec Bohm followed up with a double. Travis Jankowski walked to put two runners on and Nick Maton flew out for the second out. Herrera squared up his second Megill pitch of the game and launched a fastball into Citizen Bank Park’s upper deck in right field. The Phillies led 4-0.
Megill allowed a final single to Jean Segura before being pulled for Miguel Castro. Realmuto ended the inning on a pop-out. Nine Philadelphia batters came to the plate.
Through five innings the Mets offense was held to just two hits by Suarez and JD Hammer. New York attempted the matchup game early with Brandon Nimmo as the lone lefty in the starting lineup. The Mets built up Suarez’s pitch count to 61 over 2.2 innings. They walked three times, struck out four, and failed to record a hit.
Hammer, a 27-year-old righty, entered. He completed 2.1 innings in relief, striking out three and allowing two hits. It’s Hammer’s longest outing, majors or minors, in four years.
The Mets’ lone hits came from Baez, a single on a ball hit to the defensively inept Alec Bohm at third base, and a double from Megill in the fifth. Five runners were stranded through the first five innings.
Philadelphia’s bullpen became unhittable to New York. Hector Neris threw strikes, resulting in one baserunner over two innings. Jose Alvarado struck out two Mets in the eighth. J.D. Davis was the only player to reach against either. He reached on an error by Bohm in the sixth and walked in the eighth.
Following Castro, the Mets bullpen continued carrying the weight for the 56-54 team. Drew Smith threw a scoreless sixth, striking out two, with Yennsy Diaz throwing a clean seventh.
Diaz returned for the eighth inning. Miller homered for the second time, this time to left-center field. It’s Miller’s 12th home run of the year. In Philadelphia, he’s tied with Realmuto for the fourth-most. It would rank second on the Mets.
Mauricio Llovera closed with the five-run lead. Michael Conforto recorded the Mets’ first hit since the fifth inning against the righty reliever. Conforto drove in New York’s first run of the game with a solo shot. It might’ve been the spark the Mets needed. Jonathan Villar and James McCann each homered as New York went back-to-back-to-back and pulled within two runs.
Joe Girardi called upon his closer Ian Kennedy. The Mets still hadn’t recorded an out in the inning and Kevin Pillar kept it going with a single to left. Jeff McNeil pinch-hit for Diaz but popped out foul for the first out. Nimmo was up next. As usual, he walked.
Pete Alonso in the midst of an 0-for-16 streak stepped up. Three straight fastballs from Kennedy would extend the streak to 0-for-17. The Mets hopes rested on Davis. Kennedy ended it with three more swings and misses. As usual, New York’s bats halted once runners were on base.
The Mets finish the series in Philly tomorrow with Taijuan Walker on the mound against Zack Wheeler. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
