Mets Drop Series Finale 7-3 Behind Another Short Carrasco Start

Entering Sunday afternoon’s contest against the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York Mets were on the hunt for a four-game sweep and a fifth-straight win. A sweep of St. Louis would have also marked New York’s first four-game sweep over the Cardinals since 1986.

However, another short start by Carlos Carrasco, which extended his season-long struggles, put weight on a bullpen that finally gave way. By game’s end, the score read 7-3 St. Louis and the Mets were unable to complete the four-game sweep at Busch Stadium. Carrasco only lasted four innings allowing a hefty nine hits which inflated his pitch count. However, he only allowed three runs.

Over Carrasco’s last six starts, he has only gotten pass five innings once. His season ERA now sits at 6.42. This figure would easily be the worst in the majors if he qualified.

As mentioned, his early exit once again taxed the bullpen. After scoreless appearances by Drew Smith, Adam Kolarek, and Sam Coonrod, Trevor Gott faltered for the first time in a long time. His 12-straight appearances without a run ended, as he was tagged for four runs in the seventh inning opening the game up for St. Louis, 7-2.

Offensively, Pete Alonso continued is scorching play with yet another home run, his 39th of the season. He crushed it, into what is technically the third deck, at an absurd 113.5 mph. The Mets also tried to mount a late-inning comeback down 7-2, but a rally was snuffed out as Joey Cora made an aggressive call to send Alonso on a Francisco Álvarez RBI single.

With the loss, the Mets drop back to nine games under .500 at 58-67. They are also now back seven games in the Wild Card race. However, it was certainly a strong series overall in St. Louis, and the Mets have won six of their last nine.

Statistic of the Game: 113.5 mph

As mentioned, Pete Alonso’s fourth inning blast was a rocket. It left the bat at 113.5 mph which is one of his hardest hit home runs of the season.

Entering the contest, Alonso’s maximum exit velocity ranked in the league’s 97th percentile. He also owns hard-hit rates and average exit velocities comfortably above the league average. Despite the lower batting average, he is once again having another a huge season and is closing in on a third 40 home run season of his career.

Player of the Game: Pete Alonso

Not much went right for the Mets on Sunday afternoon. One individual that made a positive impact was once again slugger Pete Alonso. He launched his 39th home run of the season in an exclamation point of a huge series for him.

Across the four games, he went 4-for-15 with three home runs and a double. He now has 94 RBIs on the season to go with a .861 OPS.

On Deck

The Mets are right back in action Monday night as they travel to Atlanta to begin a three-game series. The Game 1 probably starter for the Mets is David Peterson while the Braves have yet to announce their starter. However, it is expected to be Allan Winans.