Mets Drop Another Series As Offense Falters In 2-1 Loss

The New York Mets (31-35) trailed by one run entering the ninth inning. Francisco Lindor worked the count full and took what he thought was ball four before being rang up by home plate umpire Dan Merzel. Tommy Pham would double later in the frame but was stranded at second base in another Mets’ loss.

That call certainly was not the main reason New York dropped the series finale at PNC Park to the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday afternoon. Entering the contest, Pirates’ starter Mitch Keller allowed 17 earned runs over his last four starts (6.62 ERA). Despite this, Keller found the form he was in to start the season and stifled the Mets through seven two-hit frames.

The only run of the contest New York scored in their 2-1 loss came via a Jeff McNeil solo home run in the fourth inning. Outside that, the team only mustered three hits – one of which was the stung double by Tommy Pham, who continues his great play, in the ninth inning. Though, him, along with six other Mets were left on base in the losing effort.

On the mound for New York, Carlos Carrasco turned in a so-so outing. He only allowed two runs, but had to scatter six hits and only lasted 4 2/3 innings before he was relieved by University of New Haven alum Josh Walker. Walker, arguably the star of the game for the Mets, stranded runners at second and third by getting left-handed batter Jack Suwinski to strikeout.

After the game, Buck Showalter voiced his praise for the lefty. “He certainly looks the part, huh?” Showalter said. “Hopefully that bodes well for his confidence in those situations going forward. I love the fact he came right at them.”

That strikeout Walker got of Suwinski was a nice change of pace from what the Pirates’ power hitter did to the Mets in the fourth inning. Suwinski hit a solo home run in the fourth frame that tied the contest up before the Pirates took the lead for good via a Tucupita Marcano single. Suwinski went 5-for-11 against the Mets in the series as he made his presence known to Mets’ fans.

Outside that fourth inning, Carrasco, Walker, Drew Smith, and then Brooks Raley all pitched well enough to give New York several opportunities to capture the series victory. As Buck Showalter said after the game, “We had a pretty well pitched game today and didn’t take advantage of it.” The offense was certainly to blame in this one.

Regardless, the Mets came up short and dropped their eighth game over their last nine since the team’s three-game sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies. New York now sits four games below .500 as both the division and Wild Card races keep getting farther away.

After the contest, Lindor confirmed the concern the team’s recent play has been invoking. “The concern has been there. It doesn’t start today, it’s been there.” It has been being said countless times over the last week or so, but something has to change for the Mets, and it has to change fast.

Statistic of the Game: Team xBA of .130

New York owned an expected team batting average of .130 in Sunday’s contest. Four of the five hardest hit balls in the game were courtesy of Pittsburgh Pirates’ hitters. The Mets’ hardest hit ball was a 103.7-mph double by Pham that set the table in the ninth inning.

With Pete Alonso sidelined for the next couple weeks, someone will need to step up. Unfortunately, on Sunday, the New York offense struck out nine times and made a lot of soft contact resulting in the fifth game over the team’s last nine where New York failed to score more than four runs. Its the third time the Mets have scored a single run or less over that same span.

Player of the Game: Josh Walker

The six-foot-six, 28-year-old was called up Saturday and made his mark on Sunday. He picked up a huge strikeout of Suwinski with two runners in scoring position. He then followed that up by picking three more outs in the following inning, aided by a double play.

The left-handed relief pitcher has excelled all year with Triple-A Syracuse posting a 1.45 ERA across 18 2/3 innings striking out 26. Hopefully, he can stick in the majors and give Buck Showalter another left-handed pitcher to go to out of the bullpen.

On Deck

Next up, the Mets have Monday off before the Subway Series commences at Citi Field. Game 1 of the short two-game set at Citi Field is scheduled for a 7:10 pm ET first pitch. The probable pitching matchup in that game is Luis Severino versus Max Scherzer.