The unforgiving Astros continued their tour of New York City. After they cut up a four-game sequence within the Bronx over the weekend, they stepped on the Amazin’s necks in Flushing on Tuesday night time.
The Mets have been shellacked, 9-1, by the Astros in entrance of 36,673 at Citi Field. President Barack Obama was nonetheless roaming the White House the final time the Mets beat the Astros, on Sept. 28, 2014.
Carlos Carrasco (8-7, 4.85 ERA), coming off decrease again ache, pitched like one thing was nonetheless amiss in his 4.1-inning outing in opposition to Houston. But one thing has been amiss for Carrasco in his final a number of begins. The veteran right-hander has allowed 25 earned runs in his final 35.1 innings pitched, with three of his worst begins in that span coming in opposition to the Angels, the Astros, and the Astros once more.
Kyle Tucker silenced the rambunctious Citi Field crowd as quickly as Carrasco’s thirteenth pitch of the night time. Carrasco allowed all of his first 4 batters to achieve base earlier than Tucker let it rip on a fastball that fell into the meat of the plate. The Astros, not a workforce to overlook any errors, uncovered every certainly one of Carrasco’s miscues in an unpleasant first inning.
Rather than taking accountability, a number of occasions in his postgame interview Carrasco stated the sport modified when umpires made the “wrong call” on Jose Altuve’s check-swing on a 3-2 depend to steer off the primary inning. Altuve walked, and Carrasco was visibly upset. He discovered it exhausting to refocus afterwards.
“I think the umpire made the wrong call right there,” Carrasco stated. “That changed the ballgame completely. … I think he screwed up right there, on that call. … If he made the right call, it should’ve been a different game.”
Though Carrasco settled down some, his pitch depend was ascending simply as quick as his June ERA. The 35-year-old allowed two extra runs (the second a results of Chasen Shreve’s unsuccessful outing), earlier than he was pulled within the fifth. Carrasco’s 6.07 ERA in six June begins is a troubling development for one of many foremost items of the Mets rotation, notably whereas Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are nonetheless on the injured checklist.
When Carrasco left, a five-run deficit was simpler to swallow than what transpired just some moments later. Shreve coughed up a two-run residence run to the primary batter he confronted out of the pen: who else however, Yordan Alvarez. The Astros slugger belted his fourth residence run in three video games in opposition to the Mets, and if Tucker’s residence run silenced the group, Alvarez’s 403-foot, two-run tater to left subject took the life out of Citi Field.
But Shreve wasn’t completed dealing but. Just a few batters later, Yuli Gurriel took the Mets southpaw deep for an additional two-run shot within the fifth inning. Before the ball even landed within the left subject seats, Buck Showalter was out of the dugout, mercifully ending Shreve’s night time. After starting the season with a 1.54 ERA in his first 10 outings, Shreve has a ten.67 ERA in his final 14 aid appearances.
“He started out pretty good this year, but most of it has been a command thing,” Showalter stated of Shreve. “It’s been a challenging one to get back to that consistent level he was at for us earlier in the year.”
Carrasco and Shreve should not the one ones wanting ahead to the Astros leaving city.
The Mets (47-28) have been hoping to bounce again and beat up on Houston on their very own turf after getting swept at Minute Maid Park final week. Instead, Astros left-hander Framber Valdez held the Mets to eight shutout innings. But it’s not just like the Mets didn’t have their probabilities.
The lineup’s greatest alternative to answer Houston’s no-mercy management got here within the fourth inning with runners on second and third and one out. Then J.D. Davis struck out in opposition to Valdez, Eduardo Escobar walked to load the bases, and Mark Canha grounded out on the primary pitch he noticed to finish the inning and the menace.
After going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring place in opposition to the Marlins in Miami on Sunday, the Mets went 1-for-9 with RISP on Tuesday. The solely brilliant spot within the Mets lineup was Starling Marte, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles. And Wednesday’s sequence finale in opposition to Houston will provide no reprieve. On the hill Wednesday is two-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, carrying a 9-3 report and a pair of.22 ERA in 14 begins this season.
“The way that Valdez was pitching, there wasn’t going to be much margin for error,” Showalter stated. “We’ll get it again tomorrow.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com