Get Out! On a Seinfeld Night, Marlins Rally Late to Topple Walker, Mets 3-2

Taijuan Walker entered Wednesday night’s start with a 7.74 ERA since the All-Star break.

His regression since being named to his first NL All-Star team has been well documented. For the Mets, this fall has been at the center of their second-half slide.

For Walker, one can only imagine the frustration that he has gone through over these past two months.

Since July 18, the Mets had gone 2-10 when he’s started. As for decisions, Walker himself has gone winless, 0-8 since the mid-summer classic in Denver.

But in his final start of the season, Walker turned back the clock to springtime – for most of his evening. Before packing up his locker for the winter, Walker threw a quality start that should have him feeling optimistic entering the offseason.

Unfortunately, as has been the case since July, Walker failed to pick up the win. In this case, it didn’t even matter how well he pitched.

A string of hits in the eighth inning powered the pesky Marlins to a 3-2 win, a game that the Mets were in control of for almost the entire contest.

The Mets 83rd loss, their latest in a forgetful second-half collapse, was a microcosm of their season at large. After leading for so long, late miscues doomed the team late. This is applicable to not only this one loss against Miami, but also reminds fans of how the Mets were once a first-place team for over 90 days earlier this season.

Setting a season-high with 7 1/3 innings pitched, Walker allowed two runs to cross the plate. While he left the ballgame to a standing ovation allowing no runs on just two hits and three walks, it was the two runners he put on base to start the eighth that ultimately doomed his chances of earning his first victory since July 3.

The fact that Walker did not earn a win in this game is even more shocking when considering how on point he was through seven frames. The lone Marlins hit in this span was an Alex Jackson single in the third inning, who quickly retired on a ground ball bunt by Elieser Hernandez. Jazz Chisholm, Jr. also reached base three times, via a fielding error and two walks. Otherwise, #99 was perfect, and was on track to put together his best start since May.

Unlike many Jacob deGrom starts, in which the dominant pitcher failed to earn a win because of a lack of run support, the Mets supplied more than enough offense to backup Walker’s stellar pitching line.

Michael Conforto blasted a solo homer to center field in the fourth inning, while Brandon Nimmo doubled home Dominic Smith in next inning to extend the Mets lead to 2-0.

With Walker dealing, all seemed good for the boys in orange and blue. Even after he opened up with eighth allowing a double and a walk, with an out recorded in between, things seemed hopeful for Walker in his quest for his eighth win of 2021.

After Walker departed his final start of the season, Seth Lugo (3.50 ERA following tonight) entered the game looking to bail out his starter. But a double by Alex Jackson and a single by Miguel Rojas quickly eliminated any chance of Walker landing in the win column.

Before Rojas was caught in a pickle to end the inning, the Marlins had scored their third run of the inning, and their second of the at-bat. All of a sudden, not only was Walker’s shutout gone, but so were his hopes of truly ending 2021 on top.

The score would remain the same entering the ninth inning, when the Mets were given their last chance. Unlike last night, when James McCann ended things with a walk-off, Wednesday brought no such joy.

New York went down 1-2-3 in their final frame, the final punch being a Jonathan Villar strikeout to end the game.

But seeing Taijuan Walker earn a win after such a difficult second-half would have been one of the better storylines for the Mets in an otherwise down year. When asking for the smallest victories is still too much for a baseball team to provide, it’s a surefire sign that a complete organizational change is needed.