The Mets and Tigers wrapped up their three-game series Wednesday afternoon at Comerica Park with the Mets looking to take their second series sweep in the last couple of weeks.
Right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (11-6, 3.61 ERA, 117 SO) was on the mound for the Mets against Tigers righty Casey Mize (12-5, 3.87 ERA, 110 SO).
Although the top six hitters in the Mets’ lineup all had hits on Wednesday, the Mets were unable to secure the sweep. They left nine runners on base on Wednesday, including going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, as the Tigers defeated the Mets, 6-2.
The Tigers jumped out on top first in the bottom of the second. With one on, Mets catcher Hayden Senger was called for a catcher’s interference that gave Javier Baez a free base to put two on. Jake Rogers then hit an RBI single to right field that scored one and gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Pete Alonso stayed hot and tied it up in the top of the third. With Francisco Lindor on second after hitting a one-out double, Alonso hit his 35th double of the season, an RBI double that scored Lindor to tie the game 1-1.
The Tigers extended their lead over New York in the bottom of the fifth. After Holmes walked two, the Mets went to their bullpen with two outs and brought in Gregory Soto to replace Holmes on the mound, with the two runners being inherited runners from Holmes.
A wild pitch by Soto advanced the runners up 90 feet, both of whom were now in scoring position. That was followed by a 2-RBI single by Riley Greene that put the Tigers back on top 3-1.
The Mets answered back to cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth. With two on, Mark Vientos got his first hit of the day in timely fashion, with an RBI single that brought in Alonso, who had reached on his third hit of the day. After six, it was 3-2 with the Mets trailing the Tigers by one.
Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
But the Tigers opened it up again in the seventh. Ryan Helsley replaced Soto on the mound for the Mets and after giving up a single and a walk back-to-back, Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run home run that gave Detroit a 6-2 lead over the Mets that they did not look back on. Helsley has now given up 14 earned runs in 14 outings since coming to the Mets at the trade deadline.
The Mets’ offense had chances to produce, but couldn’t get it done as the Tigers went on to defeat New York 6-2 to avoid the series sweep.
With the Mets’ loss to the Tigers, they are now six games behind the Phillies in the NL East. They still sit above the cut line for a spot in the wild card, but are now just 4 ½ games ahead of the Reds. The Phillies and Reds are both in action Wednesday night.
Player of the Game
The Metsmerized Player of the Game for Wednesday was Pete Alonso. He was 3-for-4 with an RBI, including hitting his 35th double of the season.
On Deck
The Mets have an off day on Thursday. They will continue their nine-game road trip on Friday with a three-game weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, who, as mentioned above, sit just 4 ½ games behind the Mets for a spot in the wild card, making this a huge series. The Mets’ probable pitchers for that series are David Peterson on Friday, Jonah Tong on Saturday and TBA on Sunday.
