The New York Mets were defeated by the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 13-5 on Wednesday night. The D-Backs win the series and have taken 5 out of 6 games against the Mets this year. With the loss, the Mets now drop to four games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
Pitching:
It was deja vu all over again with Jon Niese on the mound for the Mets tonight. The first three innings were stellar, striking out the side in the third, however he unraveled in the fourth allowing back to back home runs to Rickie Weeks Jr (2-run) and Yasmany Tomas (solo). Must’ve been the defense. He was eventually removed with two outs in the 5th inning after 82 pitches. So, in those 4.2 innings, Niese allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6.
With a runner on first, Erik Goeddel was brought in to face Goldschmidt, who he walked on four pitches. Rickie Weeks then unloaded on a fastball for his second home run of the game, a three-run shot giving the Diamondbacks a 6-1 lead. He then walked Yasmany Tomas before Chris Owings slapped a single to left.
Seth Lugo came in with Goeddel’s runners on first and second with two outs, and got out of the jam via the strikeout. He then pitched the next inning and worked around two hits for a scoreless inning.
Gabriel Ynoa came in for the 7th and allowed another three runs to cross the plate, followed by Josh Edgin in the 8th who got clobbered for four more runs including a second home run for Yasmany Tomas who had six RBIs in the game. Brutal.
Offense:
Jose Reyes made his presence felt early tonight. He led off the game with a base hit to right. Kelly Johnson then lined one at first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, but he was unable to snag it. Reyes advanced to second base, which wouldn’t have been possible if Goldy had made the grab. Jay Bruce then grounded out into the shift, and with James Loney at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Reyes to score, giving the Mets an early 1-0 lead.
The Mets came alive late in the game. Jay Bruce got things started with an RBI double in the 8th. but then in the 9th, Curtis Granderson blasted a solo homer and then Rene Rivera hit a pinch-hit two-run shot to make the score 13-5. But it was a classic case of too little, too late.
Notes:
Verizon Trivia Question: Who is the only starting pitcher to win a game for the Mets after beating them earlier in the same season?
Outfielder Michael Conforto is 12-18 (.667) since going back to Triple-A Las Vegas where he is doing most of his damage against left-handed pitching.
The New York Mets ended up going 3-6 in the nine games against the D’Backs and Padres when the team was hoping to fatten up against two of the NL’s worst teams.
Verizon Trivia Answer: Kris Benson (2004)
On Deck:
The Mets now head to San Francisco for the start of a four-game series against the Giants. RHP Jacob deGrom (7-5, 2.30) gets the start in the series opener and will be opposed by LHP Madison Bumgarner (11-7, 2.11) for the Giants. Late tonight, reporters learned that Sandy Alderson is making the trip to San Fran. First pitch is scheduled for 10:15 PM.
