With the Mets trailing the Colorado Rockies 3-2 within the sixth inning, Stephen Nogosek issued a leadoff stroll to Colorado Rockies second baseman Harold Castro. As Ezequiel Tovar stepped as much as the plate, radio play-by-play announcer Howie Rose talked about that the Mets had issued extra walks than another staff in baseball this season and had given up extra house runs.
As if on cue, Tovar took Nogosek deep for a two-run homer that put the Rockies up 5-2. The Colorado bullpen made it rise up and the Mets misplaced their tenth recreation of their final 13 tries Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
The Mets (17-17) are within the midst of a tricky stretch. The beginning pitchers aren’t going deep into video games and the bullpen is shouldering the load. The offense has been ice-cold. The Mets stay assured that they’ll get out of this stoop, however a fanbase that always expects catastrophe is getting stressed.
“Guys are pushing, sometimes to a fault,” supervisor Buck Showalter stated. “When you want something too much, it’s tough.”
Tylor Megill (3-2) had an inefficient outing, taking the loss after giving up three earned runs on six hits, strolling three and putting out 4.
“He kept us in the game and didn’t implode,” Showalter stated.
In the primary inning, a leadoff stroll got here again to hang-out him when Elias Diaz hit a two-out single to heart subject. Tovar hit his first of two house runs with one out within the second to make it 2-1 however within the fifth one other stroll proved expensive.
Megill walked Randal Grichuk and Kris Bryant. The huge righty then struck out C.J. Cron, however Diaz as soon as once more despatched up a single to heart, this time scoring Grichuk this time to place the Rockies (13-21) up 3-2.
“I didn’t really have my stuff today,” Megill stated. “I was just trying to grind through it and whatnot. I hung a slider there in the fifth and gave up a hit for the third run.”
Megill couldn’t discover his command within the first inning and by no means actually discovered it. He favored the texture of his changeup, however he was unable to successfully make the most of his slider or his fastball the best way he wished to.
“I know [command] is part of it because we’ve seen him pitch better a lot,” Showalter stated. “But I like the fact that in a day he wasn’t commanding the baseball, he kept us at 3-2.”
Megill exited and Nogosek then got here in and retired Ryan MacMahon to finish the inning.
The Mets strung collectively two runs, with one coming within the backside of the primary inning and one other within the backside of the third. Both got here off left-hander Austin Gomber, who got here into the sport with an ERA of seven.57 and left with it lowered by almost some extent (6.75). Gomber (3-4) restricted the Mets to 2 runs on 5 hits, walked two and struck out three.
The Mets barely threatened. They had solely 5 runners in scoring place and went 0-for-5, stranding six runners complete.
“When we’re at our best, we’re kind of passing the baton and grinding at-bats and making them work for everything,” Showalter stated. “We’ve had some innings where their pitcher didn’t have to be extended much and was able to pitch without having to show all of his pitches early and then as the game wore on he could break into his secondary pitches. We just haven’t seen the same challenge for pitchers as we normally do.”
Passing the baton has been a mantra of kinds for a Mets offense that’s reliant on persevering with the chain. But the Mets are struggling to place the offensive recreation and the pitching recreation collectively on the identical time.
“This is a team and we’re all going to go through tough times,” stated shortstop Francisco Lindor. “But we have to stick together.”
The bullpen pitched properly sufficient to maintain the Mets within the recreation, with Nogosek going one other full inning after the sixth and putting out the aspect, newcomer Dominic Leone getting out of a jam with runners on the corners within the eighth and Jeff Brigham working round a leadoff single within the prime of the ninth.
By the tip of the sport, the up to date totals learn 81 walks issued this season and 35 house runs, each of which proceed to guide the league. The sequence is 1-1 and can conclude tomorrow afternoon at Citi Field.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com