Game recap May 21: Over before it ever began

WHO WON:

The red and haloed not-Mets

WHAT HAPPENED, THE TOMMY MILONE EXPERIENCE:

Look, you can say a lot about what happened while Tommy Milone was on the mound in this one. None of them good. The best way I can describe Milone’s performance is how he faced Jefry Marte. Marte came into this one batting .182/.256/.312 in 86 trips to the plate. His first time up happened to be with the bases loaded. It ended with ball four. The second trip saw a long home run clear the left field fence and Marte circling the bases for the third time this season.
Milone’s ERA on the year has now risen to 7.91, which is consistent with the seven earned runs he gave up yesterday and supplants Robert Gsellman in a truly uninspiring race for worst Mets’ starting pitcher ERA.

WHAT HAPPENED, DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK:

This game really featured everything, and in a weird way. Through five innings, Met hitters struggled to figure out the enigma that was Jesse Chavez. During that span, the only runs that crossed the plate came on the back of solo home runs by Matt Reynolds and Curtis Granderson.
Then came the sixth inning, where it looked like the Mets might make a game out of it after falling behind 9-0 in the 2nd inning. A Michael Conforto double was followed by a Wilmer Flores single and a Jay Bruce three-run home run. A Granderson double one batter later bounced Chavez from the game, and after Blake Parker walked Lucas Duda, the Mets suddenly had the tying run on deck. That was as close as it would get, however, as the Angels bullpen set down 10 of the last 11 batters to end the game.

WHAT HAPPENED, THERE IS A REASON YOU SHOULDN’T CALL IT A COMEBACK:

The thing about the bottom of the sixth inning is that it is always followed by the top of the seventh inning. For the Mets, this did not work in their favor. Hansel Robles took the mound and, despite a leadoff walk, was able to get the first two batters of the frame out after Danny Espinosa was caught stealing. That is when it took a turn. Robles walked Luis Valbuena and gave up a double to Cameron Maybin to put runners on second and third with two away.
At this point, the score is still 9-5. The Mets have 9 outs to give still, and they’re still sort of in it. Yes, it is a bit of a stretch, I’ll grant you that concession. But this isn’t the story where the protagonist is hanging on to a ledge by their fingertips, helped up at the last minute by a heroic figure just before they lose their grip and fall to their demise. This is the story where Andrelton Simmons walks up in full uniform to roundhouse kick Robles off the ledge before squashing the fingertips of our (allegedly) beloved Mets.
In baseball terms, Simmons crushed a three-run homer to left field that gave the Angels a 12-5 lead they would not come close to surrendering the rest of the afternoon.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

A lot of not good things, like the Mets surrendering 12 runs and snapping a two-game win streak. The bullpen walked seven batters among the 23 outs they were tasked to record. In general, the Mets dropped another rough one to watch on Sunday.
With that said, Paul Sewald and Josh Edgin each worked a scoreless frame, continuing to look solid in the process. Granderson recorded his first multi-hit game since May 3, and his fourth for 2017 overall. Bruce homered for the first time since May 10, as he has really been in a slump the past couple weeks. After his hot start, Bruce now has just three hits and four walks in his last 34 trips to the plate. If this game is what snaps Granderson and Bruce out of their respective funks, it would be an incredible boon for an outfield where, of late, Michael Conforto has been carrying much of the weight.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets are off today, but will wrap up their homestand against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. There are four teams in the National League with a worse winning percentage than the Mets, and the Padres are one of them. In fact, at 16-30, they own the worst record in all of baseball. With the Mets teetering on the edge, this is a series that could kickstart a run to get back to .500 ball.

Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports