Gregory Soto entered Wednesday’s game with a runner on second in the fifth inning and left-handed hitting Max Kepler coming to the plate. When the Mets dealt two minor leaguers to Baltimore for the lefty in July, it was for situations like this. Lefties have slashed .214/.311/.300 against Soto in his seven-year career.
Kepler sent Soto’s first pitch (a 98 mph fastball) to center for a single and a 4-1 Phillies lead. He’s allowed five of 12 inherited runners to score since coming to New York after allowing only seven of 24 to score for the Orioles. Soto retired the next three batters, striking out two, keeping the Mets in the game. But his next inning was his worst in a Met uniform.
He hit Harrison Bader with an errant slider. Kyle Schwarber singled. Another wayward slider hit J.T. Realmuto to load the bases. Two lefties were due up next: Brandon Marsh and Kepler.
Marsh stroked an opposite-field RBI single and Kepler singled to center for the second time in as many innings, scoring two runs this time, giving the Phillies a 7-1 lead and chasing Soto. He gave up four earned runs on four hits and recorded four outs. He hadn’t given up four earned runs in a game since Aug. 6 of last year.
The game was out of hand, the Phillies went on to an 11-3 victory and the Mets (76-70) caught a break that the Giants lost, but the Reds won, so there are two teams that sit just two back of New York for the final Wild Card spot with 16 games to go.
The Mets have lost five in a row, and a reporter asked Carlos Mendoza if the team was “demoralized.”
“No, they know where we at,” the manager said. “That’s one thing with these guys. They’re not going to give up. They gonna keep showing up, they gonna keep preparing, they gonna keep competing and having each other’s back. Nobody’s happy, but we gotta keep going.”
