The Mets (71-58) lost 3-1 to the Red Sox (60-69) on Saturday evening at Citi Field.
Jacob deGrom pitched well for the Mets after a disastrous start his last time out. DeGrom went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 10.
The Mets got leadoff baserunners in four of the first five innings against Joe Kelly, but failed to cash in. DeGrom held Boston hitless for the first four innings, but Boston got their first hit in the fifth and got on the board in the sixth. Mookie Betts hit a leadoff single and, after a wild pitch, scored on a double by Pablo Sandoval. After moving to third on a sacrifice fly, Sandoval missed an opportunity to score on another wild pitch a few moments later, but eventually came home on an RBI groundout from Brock Holt, whose speed kept Boston out of a double-play after Daniel Murphy passed up a great chance to nab Sandoval at the plate.
Betts hit a solo shot off of Hansel Robles in the top of the seventh to put Boston up 3-0, but New York got the run back in the bottom of the frame when Kelly Johnson singled and scored on a double by Juan Uribe.
Eric O’Flaherty and Bartolo Colon (you read that right) kept the Red Sox off the board in the 8th and 9th out of the pen, but the Mets could not rally against Boston’s bullpen, and dropped their second straight game and their fifth straight at home.
DeGrom wasn’t terrific, but he pitched well enough to win and certainly too well to lose (ironically, he didn’t lose when he gave up seven runs in Philly). His strikeout total was impressive, but as we’ve seen before, when pitchers rack up the strikeouts, it often costs them innings, and deGrom found himself unable to go more than six innings with his pitch count up at 109.
The Mets relievers weren’t very impressive today, although the box score will only show one run allowed. O’Flaherty was very shaky (surprise!) and Colon gave up a shot to David Ortiz that very nearly went over the wall (Ortiz should have been out at second after an amazing throw by Yoenis Cespedes, but the umps missed the call, Terry Collins decided not to challenge, and Colon stranded Big Papi to render the play inconsequential). The Mets really do need some help in the bullpen, or at least some improved play from the guys who are already there. UPDATE: The Mets have acquired reliever Addison Reed from Arizona
Is Bartolo Colon now a member of that bullpen? His (potential) playoff roster spot is certainly in jeopardy with Steven Matz coming back, but if Colon can pitch well out of the pen, it would be a big boost for the Mets and would help solve the roster dilemma the team might face with their pitching staff. This is something to watch going forward.
The biggest issue today was obviously the offense. They didn’t come through in the clutch, rarely made solid contact, and let a series of mediocre pitchers limit them to just 1 run. This offense tore it up on the road, in large part via the home run. Let’s get some more of that at home.
Up Next: The Mets will look to salvage the final game of their series with the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. Wade Miley (10-10, 4.51 ERA) will face Noah Syndergaard (8-6, 3.19 ERA) at 1:10 PM.
