The Kansas Royals (44-78) have a team ERA of about five. The Royals had been shut out in their last two games. They also have the third worst record in the American League.
Not exactly the recipe of a team the Mets should lose to. Having taken care of business against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago White Sox, and the Miami Marlins in recent weeks with only one loss, the New York Mets (62-60) could not continue their winning ways against lesser teams as they lost to the Royals 4-1. The Mets will have to win the next two games in this series to achieve a .500 road trip. (Box Score)
Royals starter Mike Montgomery was effective in his six innings of work allowing only one run and five hits.
The Mets were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Overall, it was a sluggish performance by New York, not the kind of performance that has to be put forth by a team fighting for its playoff life.
J.D. Davis was in visible discomfort after an infield single. He said he “felt his calf” as he was running down the line, but thinks he’ll be fine.
Offense
The Mets managed eight hits against the Royals on Friday.
The Mets put two runners on in each of the first two innings but were unable to score. Amed Rosario hit the first pitch of the game stroking a single to left. It was his tenth hit in his last three games, and he is hitting over .420 in the first inning this year. In the second, Joe Panik singled, but was later doubled off of second on a baserunning gaffe.
New York broke through in the third to take an early 1-0 lead. Davis, who leads the National League in batting since the All-Star break at .374, singled after one was out. Pete Alonso hit into a force play, but Davis was safe at second on an error by Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield. The Mets took full advantage of the error as Michael Conforto followed with a single to left, plating Davis to give the Mets the lead. It was Conforto’s 69th RBI of the year. Todd Frazier then hit into a double play to limit the Mets to only one run.
In the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, the Mets only managed one hit, a single by Rosario, his second hit of the game. The single was his 88th road hit of the year to lead the Majors.
The Mets were retired in order in the seventh inning.
In the eighth, J.D. Davis nubbed a slow-roller to third for an infield single. Davis grimaced as he crossed the first base bag and he was removed for pinch runner, Aaron Altherr.
The Royals brought their closer, Ian Kennedy, in for the ninth. Frazier led off with a single. Wilson Ramos also singled and after a Luis Guillorme walk, the bases were loaded. Rosario could not prolong the game as he grounded out to end the game. Kennedy earned his 21st save of the year.
Pitching
Noah Syndergaard made his 24th start of the season and through three innings, he was the picture of efficiency. He retired the Royals in order in the first and third and worked around a lead-off double by Jorge Soler in the second. He needed only 25 pitches to get through the first third of the game.
A note about Soler: He was the American League Player of the Week for August 5-11. For the week, Soler led the league with six home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 1.824 OPS. He hit .409 with a .552 on-base percentage and 1.273 slugging percentage.
Syndergaard worked around Soler in the fourth walking him on a 3-2 pitch. But Noah get through the inning without allowing a hit. Between innings, Syndergaard was noticeably upset at himself, throwing his glove against the dugout wall.
Kansas City took the lead in the fifth. With one out, Ryan O’Hearn singled to right. Then the Royals stroked back-to-back doubles to grab a 2-1 lead. Meibrys Viloria hit his fourth double of the year to score O’Hearn, then Nicky Lopez stroked his 15th double to plate Viloria with the lead run. The runs scored by the Royals were the first they’ve managed in 22 innings as they were shut out in their previous two games by the St. Louis Cardinals.
In the sixth, the Royals put their first two batters on base. Hunter Dozier led off with his 22nd double of the year. Soler followed with his second walk of the evening. Brett Phillips hit in a force play to put runners on the corners. But Syndergarrd showed some grit as he struck out both Bubba Starling and Ryan O’Hearn to keep the score at 2-1. The sixth was Syndergaard’s last inning. He failed to go at least seven innings for the first time since July 6th, a span of seven games. His final line was: 6.0 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 6 Ks, 2 BB. He threw 90 pitches (58 strikes). He now has a 3.86 ERA.
Justin Wilson entered the game in the seventh for the Mets. He did not make an appearance in the Atlanta series, so he was well rested. He retired the Royals in order.
Brad Brach came in to pitch the eighth inning. He gave up singles to Alex Gordon and Hunter Dozier to put runners on second and third after an errant outfield throw from Juan Lagares. Soler walked for the third time of the game and the Royals had the bases loaded with no one out. Brach was lifted for Edwin Diaz.
On a 3-2 pitch, Diaz walked Phillips to make the score 3-1. Starling was the next batter and after striking out three times, he hit a hard single up the middle to score Dozier to make the score 4-1. Diaz avoided more trouble with a strike out to O’Hearn and a double play.
On Deck
The Mets try to even up the series against Kansas City Saturday. The game will start at 7:15 PM, an hour earlier than Friday’s tilt. Jacob deGrom (7-7, 2.68 ERA) will make his 25th start of the year for New York. He has given up more than two earned runs only once since mid-May, a span of 15 starts. He is fifth in the NL in ERA with his 2.68 mark. In July and August he has done even better, pitching to a 1.20 ERA and a 3-0 record.
Jakob Junis (8-10, 4.80 ERA) will take the hill for the Royals. He has won both of his August starts defeating the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers. In those games, he pitched a total of 12 innings allowing only three runs and 13 hits. His ERA has been steadily decreasing throughout the year and it’s now at it lowest point since mid-April.
The game will be telecast on WPIX and broadcast on WCBS-880 AM.
