Just the Worst

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The Mets committed three errors and only had four hits in a 5-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. New York (NL) once again has the worst record in Major League Baseball at 15-25.

For once, the Mets didn’t even bother teasing us by scoring first. In the second against opener Huascar Brazobán, both Ildemaro Vargas and Nolan Arenado drew walks. Tobias Myers was sent in to take care of the mess. Old chum James McCann bunted the runners over to second and third. After a Jorge Barrosa strike out, Ryan Waldschmidt smoked a ball that barely missed being a home run. He had to settle for a two ribeye steak double. 

Meanwhile, Snakes southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was lights out. He was perfect thru three innings, and it was a mild surprise that it was broken up in the fourth by a Juan Soto walk. Austin Slater would ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play two batters later to ensure Rodriguez had still faced the absolute minimum, don’t worry. 

Mark Vientos led off the fifth with a drive to deep left. The newbie Waldschmidt though ran his heart out towards the wall and made a great catch to preserve the no-hitter. If Swaggy V didn’t have bad luck he’d have no luck at all.

The Mets finally broke through in the sixth. With one out, Carson Benge ended the drama by singling to center. Luis Torrens followed with a double to right, scoring Benge, who showcased just how fast he really is (very). Soto moved Torrens to third on a fly out, and Bo Bichette walked, but Slater innocently grounded out to the first baseman to end the inning.

David Peterson was the bulk pitcher for the Mets. He worked around errors by third baseman Andy Ibáñez and himself to get out of the fourth and fifth innings unscathed, but the sloppy play continued into the sixth. Ibáñez committed a second error from the hot corner, forcing Vientos off the bag where he couldn’t tag the runner Vargas. Peterson got the next two batters to fly out, but Barrosa and Waldschmidt both singled, the latter of which scored Vargas. Then, Ketel Marte drove Barrosa and Waldschmidt home with a triple to right. 5-1 Diamondbacks. Peterson technically didn’t allow an earned run, but, you know. 

Rodriguez pitched into the ninth, aiming to become the first Diamondback in three years to toss a complete game. Slater struck out looking before Vientos blooped a base knock to the opposite field, knocking Rodriguez out of the game. Juan Morillo took over and coaxed a line out out of Marcus Semien’s bat. Pinch hitter Brett Baty walked, but MJ Melendez grounded out to second on the first pitch he saw - a 100 mph fastball. Game and series over. The Mets lost both. 

Sean Manaea pitched the bottom of the eighth after Peterson threw 77 pitches. Manaea needed 20 to get out of his inning just permitting a walk. His fastball reached 92 mph, so that’s something.

A day after Geraldo Perdomo blatantly signaled to his teammate what pitches were coming out of Clay Holmes’ hand, the Mets chose not to retaliate.

Andy Ibàñez was the third baseman and Austin Slater was the starting left fielder because the Mets were facing a lefty, even though Eduardo Rodriguez’s career splits say lefties are slightly better against him than right-handed batters. 

Juan Soto went 4 for 33 for the road trip. How funny/interesting would it be if he broke out of his slump when the Mets play the Yankees next weekend? Very? I say very.

The Mets announced that RHP Joey Gerber was reinstated from the 15-day IL and optioned to Triple-A. Also, INF Eric Wagaman was outrighted to Triple-A.

We finally got a Jorge Polanco health update! It wasn’t great! His wrist is totally fine, but his Achilles bursitis flared up again. Carlos Mendoza didn’t give a timetable for his return.

He also declined to do that for Luis Robert Jr. (back). All we know is Robert has not commenced with baseball activities. I was skeptical (not cynical) when the Mets initially said they were optimistic Robert would miss limited time with this issue - the hope from the team was the epidural he received would magically cure him in 7-10 days. No, I’m not happy my inherent skepticism was proven right. I’m quite miserable, tbh.

LHP A.J. Minter (hip) threw a bullpen on Saturday. Mendoza claimed his hip “felt fine”. No word on whether or not Minter’s velocity was still down, which is kind of important. 

RHP Kodai Senga (back) threw a bullpen yesterday. I guess we’ll find out how it went tomorrow when the media meets with Mendoza next.

Did Francisco Alvarez hit into a double play yesterday? No! He did not play!

The Mets signed undrafted Boston College LHP Brady Miller and assigned him to High-A Brooklyn. 

The Triple-A Syracuse Mets lost 8-5 to the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals affiliate). The just signed RHP Xzavion Curry threw five innings of two run ball, allowing five hits, walking nobody and striking out four in the process. The aforementioned RHP Joey Gerber got the loss after he gave up three earned runs in just one inning of work. RF Ryan Clifford went 2 for 3 with a home run, a triple, two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. SS Jackson Cluff and LF Cristian Pache also went deep.

The Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies were swept in a doubleheader against the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies). The Ponies lost Game 1 5-2. RHP Irving Cota got rocked, permitting five earned runs on nine hits in four and two thirds innings. DH Eli Serrano III and SS Wyatt Young both doubled for Bing. 2B Diego Mosquera made a web gem.Game 2 was a 5-0 shutout by the Goats. RHP R.J. Gordon did not have a good return off the injured list. Gordon allowed three earned runs (five total) in just one and two third frames. 

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones were walked off by the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) 5-4. DH Ronald Hernandez hit two home runs for the ‘Clones. RHP Brady Miller didn’t do too bad in his Mets org debut. He scattered six hits in five innings of work, allowing two earned runs while walking nobody and punching out seven. 

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets fell to the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers) 8-3. CF Simon Juan went 3 for 4 with a run scored. SS Elian Peña went 2 for 4 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk. RHP Elwis Mijares was the losing pitcher.

On this day in 1987, Keith Hernandez and Mookie Wilson taught Snuffy how to hit a baseball on an episode of Sesame Street.

10 years ago tonight, Noah Syndergaard hit two home runs and drove in all four of New York’s runs against the Dodgers. Syndergaard became the first Mets pitcher since Walt Terrell to have a multi-homer game. He also pitched eight innings of two-run ball and recorded the victory. 

No game today as the Mets come home to begin a homestand against the Tigers and Yankees. You’re free!