Mets Leave 15 On Base, Drop Heartbreaker to Marlins, 4-2

Thursday afternoon’s game was a must win. It was an opportunity to leave Miami with heads held relatively high.

Instead, the heads will be held lower than they have been all season.

The Mets offense laid down and died on Thursday afternoon, specifically with runners on, as they mustered just one run on seven hits in what may have been the worst loss of the year thus far. The team left 15 runners on base across nine innings, and stranded the bases loaded three times.

They got off to a fantastic start to the game, accumulating two singles and a walk in their first three at-bats against Miami starter Braxton Garrett to load the bases with nobody out.

Unfortunately, we’re talking about the 2021 Mets here, and many fans expected what was about to happen. J.D. Davis struck out swinging, Javier Baez went down on three pitches, and Michael Conforto swung at a ball slightly below the zone with a 3-1 count and flew out to center field; bases loaded, no outs… no dice.

41-year-old left-hander Rich Hill made his third start for the Mets on Thursday and started off strong. He allowed a one-out single to Jazz Chisholm, but quickly neutralized the opportunity by forcing Jorge Alfaro into a double-play.

Albert Almora Jr. got a rare start for the Mets on Thursday and started off his afternoon by lining a base hit into left field with one out in the second. However, any threat quickly subsided as Rich Hill bunted into a double play, ending the frame.

The Marlins and young rookie Bryan De La Cruz attempted to capitalize in the home half of the second, as a HBP and a De La Cruz single put runners on the corners with two outs. However, the veteran Hill made a good pitch to Magneuris Sierra and forced him to ground out to first base.

After a quick and easy top of the third, the Marlins finally got on the board. Miguel Rojas lined a one-out base hit into right-center field, where Almora Jr. and Conforto made a beeline for the ball. However, neither decided who was responsible for fielding it until the last possible second, when Conforto made the decision to go for the ball.

Except, he didn’t glove the ball. Instead, he awkwardly kicked it, sending it rolling towards no-man’s land in center field. Rojas didn’t immediately realize, which held him from advancing all the way to third, but the Marlins were now primed and ready to score with a runner on second and one out.

Rojas quickly took advantage of Hill’s inability to hold runners, advancing to third via the stolen base, and Chisholm knocked him in with a sacrifice fly. Hill got out of the inning after that, but the Marlins ended the third with the lead, 1-0.

The Mets’ offense continued to struggle, specifically with runners on base. Hill struck out with runners on the corners and two outs in the fourth, and then Baez struck out with runners on first and second and two outs in the fifth. Baez specifically had a tough afternoon, striking out five times in the game for his third career platinum sombrero.

Almora flashed the leather in the home fifth, laying out in center field to secure the second out for Hill. The center fielder had hit an abysmal 3-for-40 in the majors so far but had a brilliant day at the plate on Thursday, tallying two singles and a double.

The Mets offense finally did something in the sixth, as an Almora double and a Brandon Nimmo walk brought Jonathan Villar to the plate. Villar blooped a single into left-center field, scoring Nimmo and tying the game at one.

That would be almost all the Mets offense would muster, as they continued to strand runners on base. On the plus side, Hill had a great outing, going five innings and allowing just the one earned run, striking out three.

Miguel Castro and Drew Smith combined to throw a scoreless sixth and seventh, keeping the game notched at one-a-piece. In the eighth, the Mets brought in Jeurys Familia, who allowed his first baserunner via a questionable ball four call with one out. After that, Familia imploded, allowing three straight hits that scored three fish, burying the Mets under a three-run deficit with just one half-inning left to go.

As is tradition, however, the Mets gave their fans a little bit of hope in the ninth. Alonso led off the frame and reached via an error. With one out, J.D. Davis drew a walk, bringing Baez to the plate as the tying run. Baez struck out, bringing Conforto to the dish. The right-fielder dribbled what should’ve been the final out of the game down the third base line, but it was bobbled by Brian Anderson. The play was ruled a base hit, but the Miami defense had allowed the Mets a brilliant opportunity with the tying run now on base.

The Mets choose to pinch-hit Brandon Drury, who worked a two-strike count before grounding a ball towards the middle of the infield that he beat out for a base hit, scoring Alonso and cutting the Miami lead to two.

The game finally ended with Almora at the plate, as the right-hander grounded out to end the game.

The Mets leave Miami after dropping three of four and see their lead in the N.L. East shrink to just a game. They will head to Philadelphia on Friday for a crucial series against Philadelphia, where Marcus Stroman will take the mound for game one.