The Mets spent another night at the heartbreak hotel with a close play at the plate that could have given them a rare 9th inning rally.
Battling back from a 6-1 deficit, New York pulled within one with runners on first and second when Travis d’Arnaud poked a two out single to shallow right.
But Jay Bruce, whose bat has finally found good fortune, was gunned down at home on a one-hop throw by the savvy charging J.D. Martinez to end all hope of any heroics. How unlucky are the Mets? On a night when the Mets finally get a crucial hit with RISP, it’s still not enough.
“I was kind of in a way anticipating it a little bit,” Martinez said. “I wasn’t confident that he was really going to drive something over my head, so I kind of just shaded in a little bit more than perhaps they say you should.”
Mets pitcher Logan Verrett lasted a lean 3 2/3 innings, giving up 6 runs on seven hits, falling to 3-7, in his latest attempt to be a viable a MLB starter.
Tied at one in the bottom of the 4th, Detroit went Motown on the Mets scoring five runs on a double by Victor Martinez followed by a barrage of singles by J.D. Martinez, Ian Kinsler, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Miguel Cabrera.
Jon Niese, the lateral move the Mets made to replace Antonio Bastardo, relieved Verrett, and with two on and two out two additional runs crossed the plate.
Bruce and Curtis Granderson both went deep, but the merry go round of men left on base continued, as the Mets were 2-for-12 with RISP.
And in what has been a series of missed opportunities, Terry Collins second-guessed his dubious decision to not challenge the final play at the plate.
“That might be one of those plays where you might as well just take the chance anyway and see what happens. I didn’t think about it.”
What was very apparent on that play at the plate, besides the obvious out call, was that Saltalamacchia was blocking the plate without the ball.
Reportedly, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was fuming by the non-challenge, and it was the second straight game that Collins failed to challenge a call. The non-challenge on Friday would have gone in the Mets’ favor in a game they lost by one run.
The Mets are now nine in back of the Nationals, two behind the Marlins and Cards for the wildcard, and two away from a .500 record.
On Sunday, the Mets are hoping Jacob deGrom can help them avoid a three game sweep. DeGrom has emerged as the team’s most reliable starter and he boasts a remarkable 1.54 ERA in his last seven starts.
