The Mets (57-58) were defeated by the San Diego Padres (50-65) by a score of 8-6 tonight at Citi Field, and in the process have dropped below the .500 mark for the season.
Pitching:
It seems like a lifetime ago, but Logan Verrett started this game for the Mets and was absolutely atrocious, allowing an alarming eight runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out four.
Verrett also allowed four home runs in his short outing, and was noticeably unhappy with himself as seen in the dugout after his poor outing.
Look for Verrett’s next start to be skipped in the rotation in favor of one of Gabriel Ynoa, Robert Gsellman or Jon Niese.
Verrett’s home run chronology breaks down as such: A grand slam off the bat of Ryan Schimpf and a solo shot by Jabari Blash in the first, and a two-run shot by Schimpf and a solo homer from Christian Bethancourt in the third that chased Verrett from the game.
After Verrett was removed, the Mets bullpen actually pitched very well, as Seth Lugo, Erik Goeddel and Hansel Robles combined to pitch six scoreless innings, retiring the final 19 batters they faced.
Offense:
I’ll be honest, after the Padres put up an eight spot early on, I fully expected the Mets to lie down and take the loss like they have done so often this year. However, the Mets actually scored six runs to make a game of it at least.
Travis d’Arnaud who has struggled so mightily recently got the Mets on the board in the second inning with a two-run homer. D’Arnaud also threw out a runner attempting to steal, so it was an improvement of a night for the backstop.
In the fifth inning, Jay Bruce chipped in another run with an RBI single to right that scored Curtis Granderson.
Then in the sixth, Matt Reynolds hit a double with two men on which scored the aforementioned d’Arnaud and pushed Alejandro De Aza to third.
De Aza then scored on a hit from Ty Kelly, and Wilmer Flores plated a run on a fielder’s choice to trim the deficit to 8-6 Padres, but it would be all for naught, as the Padres bullpen buckled down to silence the Mets bats the rest of the way.
On deck:
Jacob deGrom (7-5, 2.35 ERA) takes on Jarred Cosart (0-0, 5.40 ERA) tomorrow night at Citi Field in game two of the weekend series with the Friars. First pitch is at 7:10 PM.
