Meet the Beatens

The Mets had a lead on Beatles Night. They were feeling pretty good about themselves. If you’ve been watching this team the last few weeks, you know what happened next. 

It was a back-and-forth affair in the beginning, as neither Luis Castillo nor Sean Manaea had their best stuff. In the top of the first, Randy Arozarena singled. Julio Rodríguez doubled him in to give the Mariners an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, Francisco Lindor led off with a home run to tie it right back up. But in the second, Mitch Garver began the inning with a homer to center. Then it was the Mets’ turn: Jeff McNeil doubled. After Mark Vientos and Cedric Mullins failed to get on base or move McNeil over, Francisco Alvarez with two strikes singled to center to score McNeil and tie it up again. Ronny Mauricio, also with two strikes, singled to right to move Alvy to third. Then Lindor singled to center to bring in Alvarez and give the Mets the lead. Lindor is back and that means the Mets will win, because as Lindor goes the Mets go. Right?

Nah, you know how these recaps work. In the third, Arozarena singled and Cal Raleigh Big Dumped us with a two-run blast to left. After that, Manaea seemingly flipped a switch (he threw fewer fastballs and went with more sweepers.) He struck out the next three batters he faced, then kept Seattle scoreless in the 4th and 5th. 

The Mets didn’t score in the third, but the fourth was a different story. With two outs and nobody on, Mauricio singled. Lindor homered for a second time. Juan Soto followed with a homer of his own. 6-4 Mets. The vibes were immaculate. 

After a Brandon Nimmo double, Pete Alonso flew out to right. That was the end of Luis Castillo’s night. The Mariners bullpen proceeded to retire the next nine Met batters. Now that is a solid bullpen. 

In the top of the sixth, Donovan Solano singled off Tyler Rogers with one out. He advanced to second on a ground out, then Cole Young got a base knock to score Solano and make it 6-5 Mets. 

Ryan Helsley came in for the seventh, presumably because the heart of the Mariners order was coming up and it was way too early to bring in Edwin Díaz. The problem is Helsley just said last night he’s still trying to get comfortable pitching in the eighth/not in the ninth. Everyone saw what happened next coming: Raleigh doubled. Helsley got J-Rod to strike out, but Eugenio Suarez doubled to left to tie the ballgame up at six. Brooks Raley and his 0.00 ERA entered. This next part wasn’t so obvious: Dominic Canzone singled to score Suarez. Raley walked Mitch Garver, then Solano doubled home Canzone. After a J.P. Crawford strike out, Cole Young doubled to knock in two. And just like that, you air your series finale. I mean, it’s 10-6 Mariners. Frankie Montas made his Met reliever debut in the eighth, when he promptly gave up back-to-back doubles to Raleigh and Rodríguez to give the Mariners an extra run. 

In the bottom of the eighth, the Mariners brought in Jackson Kowar. Kowar helped cruelly tease the Mets into thinking they still had a shot. McNeil singled. Vientos struck out. Cedric Mullins doubled to right to end an 0 for 13 slump. Alvarez homered to right to make it 11-9. But the mean Mariners manager took out Kowar and brought in Matt Brash, who is good. Mauricio struck out looking on a wicked slider, and then Lindor popped up to the third baseman Suarez in foul territory. 

Mendoza went back to Montas in the ninth, which was interesting. He ended up loading the bases, but with two out Rodríguez sharply lined out to Soto in right. 

Against Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz, the Mets went quietly to sleep. Night night. 14 of 16 lost. From 21 games over .500 to just six. It’d be impressive if it wasn’t so depressing.

 ***

Someone had to be DFA’d or sent down to make room for Nolan McLean this afternoon. And  that someone, according to Anthony DiComo, is Paul Blackburn. I guess Montas wasn’t chosen to get the axe because he’s getting paid more (and the Mets would have to pay his player option for next season.) It’s a little disappointing - remember when Robinson Canó was DFA’d even though the Mets had to eat a lot of money? Steve Cohen allegedly told his GM Billy Eppler to “make the baseball decision.” Was kicking Blackburn to the curb instead of Montas truly the baseball decision, or the financial one? 

McLean will wear #26. The last Met pitcher to wear that number? El Duque. I wonder if McLean has a dance.

Sean Manaea might still not be fully healthy. Remember, as he was healing from his right oblique strain he had to deal with loose bodies in the elbow. And/or he’s still getting the rust off of him.

Jonah Tong was the guest on this week’s Meet at the Apple. He seems like a fine fellow. Apparently he’s been referred to as the “Canadian Cannon” (he’s half-Canadian half-Chinese), but personally I prefer the nickname that was pitched by one of the hosts: “The Freaké.” (He has Tim Lincecum’s pitching motion.)

Francisco Lindor’s daughter Kalina surprised her father by taking photos of him when he went to work. 

In a segment on ESPN to promote the Little League Classic, some Mets were asked who would win a battle between one polar bear and 100 Pete Alonsos. Nimmo, Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, Lindor, Manaea, and McNeil all said 100 Pete Alonsos would defeat a Polar Bear. The one dissenter? Alonso himself. "Polar bears are the only animals that hunt humans," he explained. Sadly, I wasn’t fast enough to grab the video. 

Steve Cohen responded to an Andy Martino tweet about how the attendance has been really impressive for Met games this year by writing, “Andy, The fans have been great. They are bringing real energy to the stadium. I asked them to come out and they did! Thank You.” What’s funny is he didn’t write it to Martino - he wrote it to everyone, on its own, without context. So it almost seems like the billionaire talked to an imaginary friend named Andy.

The Phillies beat the Nationals, but their new star closer Jhoan Duran had to be carted off the field (X-rays were negative). The Reds blew an 8-1 lead and lost to the Brewers, so the Mets didn’t necessarily have the worst day out of anyone in the majors last night. In fact, going into last night,there were five teams that were six or fewer games behind the Mets for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. They all lost. 

The Triple-A Syracuse Mets (61-57) lost to the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals affiliate) 5-1. Jared Young’s homer accounted for Syracuse’s lone run. Brandon Waddell pitched well in the loss. He allowed two earned runs on two hits over five innings of work, walking nobody and striking out five.

The Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies (74-35) beat the New Hampshire FIsher Cats (Blue Jays) by a score of 4-2. AJ Ewing went 3 for 4 with a triple, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Southpaw Jonathan Santucci pitched a gem. In five and one third innings he didn’t allow a single earned run. He permitted three hits, walked one and struck out 11. 

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones (64-48) blew a lead in the 9th inning and fell to the Hub City Spartanburgers (Rangers) 6-4. Juan Arnaud blew the save and took the L.

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets (67-44) were two-hit by the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins) and lost 7-0. Irving Cota got the loss. He allowed six earned runs on eight hits in five and two thirds innings. He walked and struck out two. 

Eight years ago today, Travis d’Arnaud and Asdrubal Cabrera switched playing second base and third base 22 times. 

Late this afternoon the Mariners and Mets will play a baseball game at Citi Field, whether we like it or not. Bryan Woo (10-6, 3.08 ERA) will get the start for Seattle. Nolan McLean will make his MLB debut for the Mets. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 pm eastern. The game will air on PIX11.