The New York Mets were defeated by the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night 7-6, blowing multiple leads and losing due to an extra innings balk. The loss came on an infamous day for the Mets, where they traded future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, and rental players such as Mark Canha and Tommy Pham earlier in the day.

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The night seemed to shift in the Mets’ favor after they took the lead in the eighth inning. New York loaded the bases behind a walk from Francisco Lindor and two singles from Jeff McNeil and Francisco Álvarez, setting the stage for the next three hitters. Pete Alonso blooped a single to cut the deficit to 3-2, and then a bases-loaded walk from Brett Baty and a sacrifice fly from Mark Vientos gave the Mets a 4-3 lead.

However, the Royals manufacture their first comeback, tying the game against Adam Ottavino in the bottom of the eighth. MJ Melendez walked to lead off the inning, and eventually came home to score behind a Freddy Fermin sacrifice fly.

While the Mets retook the lead behind a two-run home run in the tenth inning by Álvarez, the bullpen blew up and allowed three consecutive runs to lose the game. Facing Brooks Raley, who has taken over the Mets’ closer role, Bobby Witt Jr. led off the inning with an RBI double and then scored behind an RBI single from Melendez.

After the Royals tied the game at 6-6, the Mets almost escaped the tenth inning. Raley induced a pop-up from Salvador Perez, and then Grant Hartwig came in and struck out Freddy Fermin. Needing only one more out, Hartwig induced a ground ball from Dairon Blanco, but an errant throw from Baty kept the tenth inning going.

The Baty error was the dagger in the Mets’ night, as Hartwig walked Drew Waters to load the bases, and Josh Walker balked home the winning run before he could even throw a pitch.

With their loss, the Mets fell to 50-56 and seven games out of the third wildcard. In a game where the Mets scored 6 runs, they allowed seven runs to the worst team and worst offense in MLB.

Before all the late-inning drama, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead behind a solo home run from Alonso in the bottom of the second inning. Facing Zack Greinke, who came into Tuesday 1-11 with a 5.49 ERA, Alonso drove a sinker to centerfield for his 31st home run of the season.

From there, Greinke settled in and didn’t allow another run. The 39-year-old allowed only two more hits after the Alonso home run, finishing his night with three strikeouts and only one run allowed in five innings. While Greinke has struggled this season, he lowered his ERA to 5.32 after his start on Monday, and is only 49 more strikeouts away from reaching the 3000 strikeout mark.

Meanwhile, José Quintana had another reliable start for the Mets. The left-hander held the Royals scoreless for the first four innings, striking out only one batter while relying on soft contact to induce outs. However, Quintana faltered in the later innings, allowing one run in the fifth and two in the seventh, which gave the Royals a 3-1 lead at the time. After Tuesday’s start, Quintana’s ERA increased to 3.57.

The Kid Stays Clutch

Lost in the Mets’ loss was Francisco Álvarez’s two-run home run in the top of the tenth. It was the sixth home run that Álvarez has hit in his career that has either tied the game or given the Mets the lead past the sixth inning.

On Deck

The Mets will send Kodai Senga to the mound for Wednesday’s matchup against the Royals. The 30-year-old was superb in his last start against the Nationals, striking out five batters while allowing only one run in six innings. As of August 1, the Royals haven’t announced a starter for Wednesday.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. The game will be televised on SNY and can be listened to on WCBS 880.