The Mets (50-61) lost to the Texas Rangers (54-59) this afternoon at Citi Field by a score of
Pitching:
Rafael Montero got the nod for the Mets this afternoon and had another miserable outing, laboring through 87 pitches in the first three innings, making New York dip into its bullpen early again.
Shin-Soo Choo doubled to leadoff the ball game and advanced to third on an infield hit from Nomar Mazara.
Montero then balked to force home the first run of the game which was shortly followed by a two-run bomb off the bat of Joey Gallo.
In the second, Elvis Andrus reached on a fielder’s choice and promptly stole second, stole third and beat a play at the plate in a span of about two minutes.
Josh Smoker fired two-plus innings in relief of Montero before loading the bases and handing the ball off to the erratic Hansel Robles, who yet again forced home a run via walk to make it a then 5-1 game.
Robles gathered himself and struck out five in three innings of work, followed by a clean frame from Chasen Bradford.
Offense:
Martin Perez looked like Cy Young on the mound for the Texas Rangers, mowing down a lethargic looking Mets offense.
He kept the Mets hitless for the first four innings before Wilmer Flores took him deep in the fifth.
Perez went eight dominant innings before handing the ball off to Alex Claudio, who shut the door for Texas in the ninth.
On deck:
The Mets travel to Philadelphia for a four-game weekend series starting tomorrow. Jacob deGrom (12-5, 3.36 ERA) will face off against Vince Velasquez (2-6, 4.82 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
