A day after a tirade by Terry Collins going off on his players, the Mets showed some fight the following night even if it was in a losing cause. However, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to blast his team with fifth starter Logan Verrett on the mound the next day.
The Mets found themselves down 5-0 to the San Diego Padres before they could even step into the batters box. And as the Padres continued to add on to their lead, it was just too insurmountable for the Metropolitans to catch up. They attempted to scratch and crawl back throughout the night, but ultimately fell short. Terry Collins was happy with the effort he saw, a day after a lifeless loss to the Diamondbacks.
“The hole was too deep, but I will tell you I was very impressed,” Collins said. “You saw a lot better energy tonight, a lot more passion. There were some very, very good at-bats.” (ESPN)
Friday’s 8-6 loss saw the Mets record fall to 57-58 on the season. It is the first time since April 17 that they have fallen to .500. Neil Walker, who saw his season-high nine-game hitting streak come to a close after going 0-2 with three walks does not believe this is a mediocre team by any means.
“We’re certainly not a .500 team by any means. Given the circumstances I don’t think anybody in here would think we are where we are,” Walker said. “This is about tomorrow now.”
Two big positives coming out of Friday’s loss saw the bullpen in shutdown mode as well as Travis d’Arnaud‘s bat possibly coming alive. The bullpen retired all 19 batters they faced in Friday’s game with eight strikeouts. Travis on the other hand hit a two-run blast while finishing the day with a career-high tying three hits. The Mets catcher found a great message in Collins’ speech from the day prior.
“It definitely made us realize we’re not out of it,” d’Arnaud said. “Anything can happen at this point in the season. No matter how much we’re down or how much we’re up, we have to keep fighting.
As the Mets continue to sink, both the Marlins and Cardinals continue to lose as well. The team still finds themselves three games back from the second Wild Card spot which remains within their grasp. With none of the contenders really running away with it, both wild cards are still there for the taking for any team who really wants it.
