Matz clearly didn’t have his best stuff, and the Rockies jumped on him early. Charlie Blackmon lead off the top of the first with a single, but Matz seemed well on his way to escaping trouble after inducing a force out from D.J. LeMahieu and a groundout from Nolan Arenado. LeMahieu then stole second with two outs before Carlos Gonzalez drove a double to centerfield to put the Rockies up 1-0.

The Mets wouldn’t trail for long, however. In the bottom half of the first, Curtis Granderson lead off with a walk, but he was promptly erased on a ground ball double play from Travis d’Arnaud. Yoenis Cespedes ground out to meekly end the first inning. In the second, James Loney lead off with a long home run to right center field to tie the game. The Mets continued to threaten that inning, loading the bases with two outs, but Granderson popped out to end the threat.

For the next three innings, the score remained tied at one. Matz weaved his way in and out of trouble as he fought to keep the Mets in the game. The Rockies put runners on the corners with no outs in the third, but Matz induced a pop out and two strikeouts to escape the threat. The Rockies put a runner on in the fourth and two on base in the fifth, but Matz prevented them from scoring in those instances as well. While the Mets offense was basically non-existent, recording no hits and only one walk, Matz managed to keep the game tied.

The Rockies finally broke through in the sixth. Trevor Story and Mark Reynolds started the inning with a single and a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs. David Dahl flew out to shallow left, but Nick Hundley came through with an RBI single to left that scored Story and put the Rockies up 2-1. Matz induced a ground out from Charlie Blackmon to escape the threat and end his night (6 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 5 K, 1 BB), but the floundering Mets offense now had a deficit to overcome.

Somewhat predictably, they failed to do much overcoming. The Mets went down in order in both the sixth and seventh before putting runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth. You can probably guess what happened next. Travis d’Arnaud hit into a force out, Cespedes popped out, and Loney grounded out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, the Mets bullpen continued its recent struggles. Erik Goeddel relieved Matz and kept the Rockies off the board in the seventh. He faltered in the eighth, however, allowing a solo home run to Reynolds that stretched the Rockies lead to 3-1. Antonio Bastardo then entered for the ninth and let the game slip away. Charlie Blackmon doubled and Nolan Arenado was intentionally walked with two outs to pitch to Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez then launched a hanging slider out to right center field for a three run home run that gave the Rockies a 6-1 lead.

Needless to say, the Mets didn’t score five runs to tie in the ninth (it’d be a miracle if they scored five runs in a game period at this point). Neil Walker led off with a single, advanced to second on a ground out from Wilmer Flores, but didn’t advance further as Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Conforto were retired to end the game. The Mets finished 0-for-6 with runner in scoring position as the offense continues to flail.

With the loss, the Mets are now 16-18 against teams below .500 since May 1st and have fallen a season high seven games out of first place. A wild card berth also continues to slip away, as the Mets are now 2.5 games back of the Cardinals with the Pirates and Marlins also in the way.

Tonight, the Mets will try to at least make a series split possible, as Bartolo Colon will pitch on short rest against comparative youngster Jorge De La Rosa.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The 1988 blue and white small bears—not the Mets.

WHAT HAPPENED: BARTOLO STRUGGLES

Putting it bluntly, Bartolo Colón was bad in his second start following the All-Star Break. In four and a third innings on Wednesday, Colón surrendered six runs on eight hits, striking out one and walking two. The 43-year old seemed to never really find his groove, and that was made worse when considering how the Mets fared against Kyle Hendricks offensively. Not only was it uncharacteristic of him (or any starting pitcher, really) to throw 33 pitches in the first inning, but he missed the zone on half of them. After surrendering an infield hit to Kris Bryant, Colón walked Willson Contreras and Jason Heyward before Addison Russell plated two on a liner to left. The whole inning Colón was either wild or looked to be attempting to be too fine with his pitches.

Following the first inning, however, he didn’t nibble quite as much and attacked the zone. That being said, the Cubs didn’t really falter once he did. Anthony Rizzo absolutely tattooed two baseballs that Colón left over the heart of the plate, and hits Bryant, Contreras, Russell, and Javier Báez all recorded hits. Essentially, this was one of the worst starts Colón has had this season, but the Cubs do have one of the best lineups in baseball. So, in a way, struggling against them sort of comes with the territory. Sure, the Mets need Colón to finish the season strong, especially with the injury to Matt Harvey, but the Cubs hitting him shouldn’t raise significant warning flags.

WHAT HAPPENED: KYLE HENDRICKS IS GOOD, METS IN SCORING POSITION ARE BAD

It’s about that simple, to be honest. The Mets ran into a good pitcher doing good pitcher things, though they were able to tag seven hits against him. Two of the hits were for extra bases (one by Travis d’Arnaud and one by Michael Conforto); however, the whole ‘not scoring people in scoring position’ dilemma reared its ugly head.

The Mets were poised to strike in the second inning with runners at the corners and one out—but then Juan Lagares grounded into a double play. Three singles in the fourth had James Loney rounding third looking to put the Mets on the board—but then Jason Heyward threw a ball 99 mph home to nab him at the plate. A d’Arnaud walk followed by a Kelly Johnson single put runners at first and second with no outs—but then Baez made a stellar play on a Lagares pop up in foul territory, and Conforto followed that up by grounding into a double play. The opportunities were there all game long, the Mets just simply couldn’t cash in. There were too many ‘but thens.’

You always hear of fans saying their teams struggle with RISP, but here is the thing: The Mets really, really do. This isn’t a ‘the sky is falling’ chicken little moment. It’s bad. Coming into today, the Mets were batting .207/.287/.330 in 755 plate appearances and have managed to strike out in nearly a quarter of the chances they have gotten. Again: it’s bad. At least Wilmer Flores was there (who thought those words would be a real thing coming into this season?) to homer and prevent the shutout, continuing his July tear.

WHAT HAPPENED: YESTERDAY

There were positives, believe it or not. Kelly Johnson went 4-4 (all singles) and has continued to look good during his time spent in a Mets uniform. Taking over for Colón, the bullpen—comprised yesterday of Antonio Bastardo, Erik Goeddel, and Addison Reed—looked good in three and two-thirds innings of work. Ultimately, however, Colón’s struggles against a strong Cubs lineup and the Mets continued trouble with runners in scoring position resulted in a loss of the series’ rubber match.

WHAT HAPPENS: TODAY

The Mets have a travel-day as they head to Miami for three games in order to finish off their first road trip of the second half. They’ve gone 3-3 thus far, so a series win would also mean a successful road trip.

Photo credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Daniel Murphy continued to hit Mets pitching like it’s the 2015 playoffs, with a homer and 4 RBI in a 6-1 Nationals win

Mets Get to Scherzer Early

Max Scherzer threw 7.1 shutout innings against the Mets two weeks ago. He’s been on a roll since June 1, holding batters to a miniscule .161/.208/.292 slash line. The Nationals star couldn’t find his release point early, walking Jose Reyes on four pitches. Curtis Granderson singled to left and Jayson Werth threw the ball to an imaginary fielder instead of second base, advancing the runners. Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly for a rare manufactured run by the Mets. James Loney was hit by the next pitch, but Scherzer got the next two batters to get out of the jam.

By the second inning Scherzer found his command. Alejandro De Aza singled with one out as Daniel Murphy dove for a ball to his right but couldn’t grab it. The next Met to reach base was also De Aza, leading off the fifth with a single to center. After that the next Met to reach base was – no way you’d guess this before the game – De Aza again. Using De Aza and his abysmal .188 TAv to replace the injured Yoenis Cespedes instead of turning to Juan Lagares was a questionable decision, but it paid off for one day

Verrett Walks to #5 Role:

With Matt Harvey out for the season with thoracic outlet surgery, the Mets called on Logan Verrett to take his spot in the rotation. Verrett actually has the lower earned run average (4.01 vs. 4.86), but ERA can be deceptive. Harvey struggled because of his injuries and because balls kept falling in for base hits against him (.353 BABIP). Verrett’s Deserved Run Average is 5.35, considerably worse than Harvey’s 4.70. For all that Verrett gets described as a “control” pitcher, he has walked more than 10 percent of opposing batters this year. Only nine pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title walk players more often. Free passes played a key role in Verrett’s loss yesterday.

Bryce Harper walked to lead off the second inning, then stole second on the very next pitch. Wilson Ramos singled and Clint Robinson drove harper in with a sacrifice fly. Verrett started the next inning by walking Scherzer. Ben Revere pulled a ball that bounced fair past first base. Loney couldn’t make the play as a left-handed first baseman, so the ball bounced all the way down the line for an RBI triple. Reyes knocked down a hard hit ball to third to retire Werth. Verrett got ahead of Murphy 0-2 then hung an offspeed pitch that Murphy lined through the shift.

Verrett settled down for a bit after giving up a 3-1 lead, retiring Harper and Ramos to get out of the inning. He retired a total of seven straight hitters before surrendering a two-out walk to Werth. Murphy immediately made him pay, pulling a tailing fastball that caught too much of the plate for an RBI double. Harper was walked intentionally. Verrett then threw a fastball right down the middle, but Ramos lined to Cabrera to end the inning. He settled down in the sixth inning, retiring all three batters.

Even though Verrett wasn’t that effective and had just tied a big league career high with 93 pitches, Terry Collins kept him in the game for the seventh. Verrett retired Scherzer and Revere but walked Werth again. Collins called on Antonio Bastardo as the lower leverage situational lefty. Just like the fifth inning, Murphy made the Mets pay, driving a fastball down the middle in to the Washington bullpen. In 2015, Murphy had five home runs before the All Star break for the Mets. In 2016, Murphy has six home runs in 12 games against the Mets. All four Nationals who got unintentional walks from Verrett scored.

After the Nationals took a 6-1 lead both sides worked to wrap the game up before the rain came. (Except for Bastardo auditioning for the role of human rain delay in the seventh.) Scherzer stayed in to complete the seventh, racking up 116 pitches. Granderson doubled to the wall against left-handed reliever Felipe Rivero in the eighth. Erik Goeddel created a jam in the ninth but got out of it. Travis d’Arnaud walked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and then De Aza ran out of luck, striking out to end the game.

Injury Updates:

Collins said that Noah Syndergaard did not report any discomfort, tightness or pain in his arm after leaving Friday’s game in the fifth inning. Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen both said they have never seen a pitcher suddenly lose velocity without other discomfort. The team believes it is just fatigue and does not plan on giving Syndergaard an MRI at this point. He will be sent to the end of the rotation to get 10 days off – essentially skipping a start. Syndergaard will travel to San Diego for the All Star Game festivities but won’t play. Cespedes will not make the trip to rest his quad injury.

What’s Next:

The Mets look to salvage a split of the four game series, with Steven Matz facing Gio Gonzalez.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

The red and white not-Mets

WHAT HAPPENED, THE FIRST SEVEN:

In short, the first seven innings of this one were bad. With the focus being on the bats, Max Scherzer dominated an already poor Mets lineup. He struck out 10, and the only runners to reach base against him did so in the second inning—an Asdrubal Cabrera single followed by a Kelly Johnson walk. Of course, Scherzer is really good at what he does. As for the Mets offense…well, they’re there too. The current state of the lineup is one that would be able to compete with an average starting pitcher, but an elite one? The results are going to be less than desirable. From that perspective it isn’t all too surprising that Scherzer pitched as well as he did with the as feeble a resistance he saw.

Logan Verrett wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t great. He only surrendered two runs across his five innings of work, but he also walked four batters and gave up four hits. The lead-off hitter either reached base or hit a home run (I’m looking at you, Daniel Murphy) in every inning but the first, which isn’t the best way to start off innings. In general, it was a subpar performance that isn’t the kind that’ll stick in your memory for a long time. He was followed by Antonio Bastardo, who looked good in two innings of work—allowing no hits (the one runner came from a Johnson error) and striking out one.

WHAT HAPPENED, SOME FORM OF LIFE:

Then came the eighth and ninth inning, where the Mets would record a total of five hits. Once Scherzer left the game, the Mets attempted to charge. Alas, it was too little too late. Having just seen Murphy belt his second homerun of the game, the Mets 4-0 deficit coming into the final inning proved insurmountable despite a 2-run homer by James Loney and a late Johnson double that would bring the tying run to the plate in the form of rookie Brandon Nimmo. It was good to see the fight was there, but it would’ve been better to see it for a longer period of time. Regardless, this kind of late comeback attempt helped the Mets avoid being shutout for the second straight night. Hopefully it is something they can use to build on going into the weekend.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

Murphy made sure to keep making Mets fans feel wonderful about his departure, rubbing salt in the wound by notching two homeruns that proved to be the deciding factor. On the other side, the Mets also happened to cross Max Scherzer at a bad time. It was peak Max Scherzer pitching and peak Mets lack of hitting, and the two combined for a pretty cut and dry outcome. That being said, maybe the late charge signals that there is some type of offense buried deep within this lineup. I know, I know, I’m probably being over-optimistic. Sigh.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets head back home for the first time in a week, and look to wrap up June with a win against the Chicago Cubs. Not only that, but the Mets will also be looking to snap a 4-game losing streak as they send Steven Matz to the mound for the first of four against a team they last faced in the NLCS. A bounce back series against the Cubs would be just what the doctor ordered, and something they need to help them stay afloat in the still-early NL East division race.

Photo credit: Geoff Burke – USA Today Sports

The Mets provided some fireworks late, but it wasn’t enough to avoid wasting a great start by Bartolo Colon and a second straight Sunday loss to the Braves.

A PITCHER’S DUEL

The Mets faced Bud Norris, who entered the game sporting a 4.69 ERA in 63.1 innings this season. Norris has had his ups and downs in 2016, but he’s been on the upswing recently. After starting the year in the rotation, he gave up 16 runs in 21.1 innings and was demoted to the bullpen, where he allowed a further 10 runs in 19.2 innings. However, Norris has had four solid starts since rejoining the rotation in early June, allowing just seven runs in 22.1 innings while striking out 21.
Norris’s improvement seems due in part to some newfound velocity. In his past four starts, the 31-year-old has been able to reach back for something extra, averaging more than a full mile per hour more with his fastball than he did in his first 41 innings of the season (94.7 vs. 93.6, respectively) while throwing more strikes. Norris has also picked up nearly an inch more of downward action on his slider over those four starts.
The righty came out again flashing his newly enhanced repertoire against the Mets on Sunday, blowing a 94-mile-per-hour fastball by Kelly Johnson to begin the game. Norris then left Matt Reynolds fishing for a slider for his second punchout, and then fired another slider and two 95-mile-per-hour fastballs by Yoenis Cespedes to strike out the side in the top of the first.
Bartolo’s been on a solid streak of his own. On the mound for the first time since leaving his last start only four pitches in after being hit on the thumb by a comebacker, Colon looked to continue a string of good outings that has seen him give up just 7 earned runs in 33 innings dating back to May 23. However, the big man looked a bit shaky to start the game. He worked with somewhat reduced velocity, throwing his two-seamer in the mid 80s rather than its usual high 80s and his four seamer just under 90 rather than its usual 90-91.
As such, the Braves came out swinging. On Colon’s second pitch, Jace Peterson took the ball the other way, driving a ball to deep left field which Johnson was able to haul in on the warning track. After an easy flyout to left, Freddie Freeman nailed the first pitch he saw — an 87 mile-per-hour fastball — into the left field seats to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Nick Markakis followed with a double to right field. The inning only ended when Neil Walker saved what would’ve been an Adonis Garcia single and likely RBI when he dove to snare a liner for the third out of the inning.
On the game’s very next pitch, however, Garcia took some revenge when he made an over-the-shoulder grab on a Walker pop fly when action resumed in the top of the second.

Norris retired the next two Mets, and Colon reciprocated with a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the bottom of the second. After the shaky first inning in which the Braves smacked four hard hit balls off of Bartolo, he settled down, inducing 10 ground ball outs over the next six innings. Bartolo had little trouble with the Braves — except for Freeman, who knocked two more hits for his first three-hit game since last Sunday against the Mets, in which he collected four.
Norris easily dealt with the Mets’ lineup as well. Norris’s stuff was working all day, as he struck out eight, and his control was impeccable, as he walked none. The Mets would scratch a single here or there — a Rene Rivera hit here, a Kelly Johnson knock there — but only were able to get multiple runners on base in the fifth. James Loney and Wilmer Flores hit back-to-back singles to left field. Brandon Nimmo, in his first major league start, grounded into a force out, but that still left runners on first and third with one out. However, Norris now faced the bottom of the Mets order, and he easily struck out Rivera and Colon on three pitches each to end the inning.

THAT BASTARDO!

Norris and Colon each finished out the seventh inning, leaving the game 1-0. After a 1-2-3 inning by Jim Johnson in the top of the eighth, Antonio Bastardo relieved Colon in the bottom of the inning. Suffice it to say, Bastardo hasn’t been good recently. Since his struggles began on May 18 with 0.2-inning, 2-run outing against the Nationals, in 13 innings, Bastardo has given up a lot of hits (16), a lot of runs (11), a lot of home runs (4) and a lot of walks (8).
The Mets hoped that Bastardo could build off of the clean outing he put together on Friday in which he allowed a hit but also struck out Freddie Freeman. That, however would not be the case. In three batters, Bastardo:

• Gave up a single to Inciarte
• Balked, allowing Inciarte to advance to second
• Walked Freeman
• Allowed a single to Nick Markakis, which scored Inciarte.

Logan Verrett then replaced Bastardo, mercifully, it seemed, until Adonis Garcia turned around a fastball over the middle of the plate into the sparsely populated left field stands for a 3-run home run to open the Braves’ lead to 5-0.
Verrett escaped the inning despite giving up a few more hard-hit balls, and the Mets had one more half inning to climb out of their newly-deepened hole.

ONE LAST GASP

Reynolds started off the ninth with the most life the Mets’ bats showed all day, hitting a deep flyball to center field off of Alexi Ogando that was scored a double and an error after an Inciarte fumble allowed Reynolds to get all the way around to third. Reynolds scored the first run of the game on a Cespedes groundout. Walker populated the bases once again, hitting a double to right field. Two batters later, he scored on a Flores single to tighten the game to 5-2.
Nimmo then stepped up to the plate, needing to get on base to keep the game alive. Batting against Arodys Vizcaino, who had just replaced Ogando, Nimmo took two balls before fouling off four 97-mile-per-hour fastballs and one slider. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, though, Vizcaino caught Nimmo looking at another fastball down and in for the final out of the game.

NOTES

-This was the fifth straight Sunday loss for the Mets. They’ve scored seven runs over those five games.
-Mets fans will cross their fingers that Noah Syndergaard doesn’t feel another twinge in his arm as the team takes on the Nationals tonight at 7:05.
Photo credit: Dale Zanine – USA Today Sports

Coming off an injury scare in his last start, Steven Matz squared off against the Braves again, this time looking to snap a very frustrating four game losing streak against last-place Atlanta. Opposing him was Aaron Blair, the third piece in the Shelby Miller trade, who has gotten absolutely rocked (ERA over seven, FIP of almost six) so far in his rookie season. Yoenis Cespedes also returned to the lineup after missing a few days with a sore left wrist. 

Julio Teheran nearly threw a perfect game against the Mets lineup to complete Atlanta’s sweep.

A SHAKY START

Jacob deGrom had every reason to be confident on Sunday, his 28th birthday and his first Father’s Day as a dad. He was facing the National League’s worst team by record, its third-worst performer by third order winning percentage, and its second-worst lineup by TAv. He had pitched to a 1.57 ERA and 3.8 K/BB ratio in 154.2 career innings in day games.

Yet, despite all this, deGrom didn’t come out armed with his sharpest stuff. His fastball was a tick under the 94 mph that it’s averaged this season, and his curveball didn’t have quite the same bite. deGrom survived the first two innings without giving up a run, allowing just one baserunner and striking out three along the way, but it wasn’t easy. He labored, throwing 19 pitches in each inning, although he was helped out by this tremendous play by Wilmer Flores:

The Mets didn’t give Teheran nearly the same trouble, cruising through the first six batters in 25 pitches. Although he only struck out two of them, only one batter even hit the ball out of the infield.

ALL THE OFFENSE THE BRAVES WOULD NEED

deGrom’s struggles would catch up with him in the third inning as he plunked Erick Aybar to lead off the third inning. Teheran dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance Aybar to second, who subsequently went to third on a deep Mallex Smith flyout. Ender Inciarte, who used the weekend series to raise his OPS from .603 to .620, drove in the first run of the game by nailing a first pitch fastball to right field.

That wasn’t all the Braves would get, as Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis knocked two more singles on deGrom fastballs, allowing Inciarte to come around to score and put the Braves up by two. After a four-pitch walk to Tyler Flowers, deGrom calmed down enough to induce a groundout from Jace Peterson.

In the bottom of the inning, the Mets would show the only piece of offense they would muster all day, as Michael Conforto singled up the middle on one of just five three-ball counts Teheran would reach on a batter all day. The Braves pitcher bounced back with a strikeout of Kevin Plawecki, the first of 21 consecutive batters that Teheran would subsequently retire. Teheran’s fastball was cooking all day, averaging 93-94 mph instead of his usual 92-93.

The fourth and fifth innings went off without a hitch for deGrom, as he needed only 19 pitches to get through both innings without allowing a baserunner. However, trouble would strike in the top of the sixth inning. when Nick Markakis launched a changeup up and over the plate into the bullpen to extend the lead to 3-0. deGrom finished off Flowers, Peterson, and Chase d’Arnaud to finish his day, but the damage was done.

PILING IT ON

Antonio Bastardo relieved deGrom in the seventh inning. In the past month, Bastardo has moved away from using his fastball with the more than 65% frequency he has hurled it over his eight-year career, instead throwing it 54% of the time and trusting his slider and changeup more often. However, he’s been awful. In 11 innings, he’s given up 9 runs. His opponents’ BABIP has only been .300. The issue has stemmed from a little bit of everything — allowing a few more hits than usual, a few more walks than usual and a few more home runs than usual.

Bastardo continued to have problems, even against the lowly Braves, giving up a leadoff double to Aybar and then another sacrifice bunt to Teheran. Bastardo then hit Smith on the hand with a pitch, and balked to allow Aybar to score and Smith to advance to second. Two batters, later, Freddie Freeman collected his third hit of the day by knocking in Smith with a double for a 5-0 lead.

After another perfect inning by Teheran, Hansel Robles entered the game. Aside from back-to-back appearances in late May in which he allowed three runs each, Robles has been solid. On Sunday, however, he was very hit or miss in the eighth inning. Flowers struck out before Peterson and d’Arnaud singled. Aybar then struck out and Julio Teheran singled. Before the crowd could find out what the next at-bat would bring—strikeout or single—Robles chucked a breaking ball into the dirt, which Plawecki blocked but bounced up the first-base line, allowing Peterson to dash home to extend the lead to 6-0.

The Mets would do nothing in the bottom of the inning, and Robles pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing only Freddie Freeman’s fourth hit of the game. The Mets finished their day at the plate in the bottom of the ninth the same way it began—a Curtis Granderson flyout—to end the game.

NOTES

-The Mets have been one-hit once before this season. Who did it to them? None other than the Braves, who shut the Mets out on May 3.

-The Mets are off today, but they’ll continue at home on Tuesday against Ian Kennedy and the Royals. Noah Syndergaard will take the hill.

Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports

The Brewers hit too many homers against a depleted Mets pitching staff, winning 7-4.

Mets’ Misery Continues at Plate

Early on, it looked like Wily Peralta would be the ideal cure for the Mets’ struggling offense. Peralta is already 2.1 wins below replacement and allowing a .365 opponents’ batting average. Asdrubal Cabrera got a belt high fastball on an 0-2 count and drove it for an opposite field home run. Ryan Braun looked a bit surprised by how much the ball carried. By the end of the game, no one would be surprised by baseballs flying out of Milwaukee on a hot day. The Mets just couldn’t get enough homers. Curtis Granderson tripled off the yellow paint at the top of the fence to lead off the third. He was almost doubled off when Michael Conforto lined out to  third baseman Aaron Hill, but replays showed Granderson got back to the bag in time. Yoenis Cespedes took his unintentional walk. Neil Walker tried calling for time on a 2-0 count but couldn’t get it. He stepped back in the box and tapped in to a weak double play, jogging down the line. At first it wasn’t clear if Walker was injured or frustrated over his team’s season-long struggles in clutch situations.

We got an answer the next inning as Walker threw his glove in to the bench the next inning and stormed into the dugout. His back tightened up on the swing and run to first, so he left the game. Meanwhile, Mets hitters drove three balls right to Brewers fielders in the fourth. Granderson got his home run in the fifth inning, leaving him just a double short of the cycle. But the Mets couldn’t get another hit until the ninth inning.

Kelly Johnson and Cabrera both singled off of Brewers’ mop up man Jacob Barnes and closer Jeremy Jeffress came in now that the game had a save situation. Wilmer Flores got a sacrifice fly but then Rene Rivera grounded out to end it.

Logan Verrett Struggles With Command

Because the Mets haven’t had an off day since their doubleheader on Tuesday, they needed Logan Verrett to make a spot start. Verrett filled in admirably for Jacob deGrom in April but was terrible in his last spot start at Colorado. In the second inning, Verrett started reminding people why he isn’t a regular in a rotation. He tried jamming Chris Carter but left the ball over the plate for a towering home run. Former Met Kirk Nieuwenhuis doubled down the line and stole second on the next pitch, eventually scoring on a double play. Verrett tried to jam Ryan Braun in the third inning but left a fastball over the plate for another massive home run. The Mets starter settled down in the fourth inning, but gave another two-out walk to light-hitting catcher Martin Maldonado. Peralta made the Mets pay, hammering a 429-foot homer to the upper deck in right.

Who’s Left to Pitch?

Before the game Terry Collins said both Jim Henderson and Jeurys Familia would be unavailable. Logan Verrett needed 87 pitches to get through four ineffective innings. The Mets were so short-handed that Jacob deGrom was throwing in the bullpen. Collins let Verrett hit for himself in the top of the fifth but turned to Hansel Robles to pitch in the bottom half of the inning. Robles cruised through the fifth and worked around two walks in the sixth. Antonio Bastardo came in but surrendered back-to-back home runs to Scooter Gennett and Braun. The Mets tied their season high, allowing five home runs. Collins sent Bastardo back out for the eighth to take one for the team, but he got through that inning without difficulty.

What’s Next?

The Mets end their road trip with a day game and Steven Matz on the mound.

Photo credit: Benny Sieu – USA Today Sports

Jonathon Niese got his revenge against the Mets with seven shutout innings as the Mets lost 3-1.

Niese Rolls Over Struggling Mets Lineup

When the Mets traded Niese away after last season, he went out of his way to criticize the Mets infield. Sure, the Mets allowed 12 unearned runs while he was on the mound, but it’s hard to pin Niese’s struggles from last year on the defense. Niese had a career low in strikeout rate while his walks went up. Blaming the defense seemed like an excuse for Niese’s 2015 performance that was 2.3 wins below replacement level.

Niese had been better so far this year, by which I mean he was only slightly below replacement level. On the other hand, the Mets lineup has struggled as of late with a series of injuries. Niese kept the Mets off the board for seven innings. It’s hard to say whether Niese was particularly good or the Mets were particularly bad as they pounded the ball in to the dirt for one weak ground ball after the next. Yoenis Cespedes was back in the starting lineup but went 0-for-3 with a walk.

The Mets only got two chances off Niese and the Pirates. The first came in the fourth inning when Neil Walker hit a two out single, Wilmer Flores continued his hot streak with another single and James Loney drew a four pitch walk. Mets fans may have expected Niese to lose concentration – he struggled in these situations last year – but he managed to strike out Michael Conforto to end the threat. Steven Matz drove a ball down the right field line in the fifth and extended it to a triple when the ball bounced off the wall past Gregory Polanco. The Pirates brought in their infield with one out and Curtis Granderson couldn’t elevate the ball for a sacrifice fly. Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to end the threat. Things looked better for the Mets as soon as Niese left. Granderson homered and Cabrera dropped a great drag bunt only to be thrown out since he got out of the box slowly. Cespedes walked but the Mets couldn’t put together a rally.

Matz Grinds Through Five

Josh Harrison set the tone for the Pirates, tripling over Cespedes to lead off the game and scoring on a David Freese single. Jung Ho Kang got another single but Matz got a ground ball and strikeout to limit the damage. In the third, Harrison led off with another single and got in to scoring position before a strikeout and double play ended the threat. Harrison led off the fifth with his third single, stole second on a huge lead and came around to score. Matz only threw 11 first pitch strikes to the 24 batters he faced. Pittsburgh took advantage and pounded him for eight hits in five innings. Matz’s stuff wasn’t bad by any stretch – he got eight strikeouts and 14 swinging strikes – but he couldn’t locate strike one. Antonio Bastardo threw 20 pitches in the sixth and Logan Verrett pitched the seventh and eighth, throwing 34 pitches. With no off day before the Mets’ next series, Verrett will be used as a spot starter, so the early game may be his only work out of the bullpen for a while.

Homecoming for Walker

Neil Walker was born in Pittsburgh and played six seasons for his hometown team before being traded to the Mets. The Pirates played a short tribute video and their fans gave a minute-long standing ovation. Walker tipped his helmet to the crowd before taking his first at-bat and was cheered throughout the game.

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire – USA Today Sports

The two young righties duked it out on Sunday, but as good as Matt Harvey was, Jose Fernandez and his 14 strikeouts edged him out for the 1-0 Marlins victory.

PITCHERS’ DUEL

In a sign of what was to come, Fernandez struck out Alejandro De Aza to start off the game, the first of the 14 Ks that the Marlins ace would put up on Sunday. De Aza wouldn’t have the worst day on the team, as he was one of just four to get on base, but he’d fall victim to another nasty Fernandez curveball in the third inning. After an Asdrubal Cabrera groundout, Curtis Granderson doubled to center field, but Neil Walker then became the second of many on the day to succumb to Fernandez’s curveball when he failed to check his swing and ended the inning.

Harvey then made quick work of the Marlins, getting Ichiro, Martin Prado and Christian Yelich to line out, ground out and strike out in order. Harvey would only strike out three batters all game, but he only allowed four hits and walked none, helping him keep his pitch count down and get through seven innings on 104 pitches. Harvey wasn’t as dominant as he was last time out, when he needed only 87 pitches to roll through seven shutout innings and accumulate six strikeouts against the White Sox. However, he let the Mets defense, ranked eighth in defensive efficiency in baseball, help him out against a much stronger Marlins lineup by TAv.

By contrast, Fernandez was in peak form. He set down all 12 batters in order from the second to the fifth, seven of whom went down on strikes. Almost nobody could get around on that curveball, as De Aza, Cabrera, Granderson, Walker and James Loney all fanned on the pitch. After Fernandez made him look silly diving for an 85 mph Uncle Charlie, Cabrera let forth an expletive for all watching at home to hear—we feel the same way, Droobs. We feel the same way.

Michael Conforto also got caught looking at a 95 mile-per-hour fastball low and away to start off the second inning, but he did manage to get a hold of a curveball to lead off the fifth, sending a deep drive out to right field. However, Ichiro made this pretty insane play, making you wonder how many other 43-year-olds on the planet can do this:

Harvey might not have been as visually appealing, but he still did a solid job through the first four innings, allowing just one hit—a harmless single to Derek Dietrich—in the second inning.

THE MARLINS COME ALIVE

The most consequential part of the game would prove to be the bottom of the fifth. Dietrich—who had the best game of any hitter on either side—hit a double on a changeup that Harvey left up and over the plate. JT Realmuto followed that up with a single up the middle on a 94 mph fastball to drive Dietrich in for the 1-0 lead. Harvey got Adeiny Hechavarria to hit into a fielders choice and then made a nice play on a squibber off the bat of Fernandez to end the inning, but the damage was done.

THE METS GIVE SOME VITAL SIGNS BUT DON’T MAKE MUCH OF IT

Harvey would just allow one more hit—a single to Christian Yelich in the sixth—the rest of the way. The Dark Knight also collected two of his strikeouts, including one of Derek Dietrich in the seventh on a slider, during his last two innings of work.

Meanwhile, the Mets mounted their biggest threat of the entire game in the seventh inning. Other than Granderson’s double in the first inning, the Mets hadn’t had much luck against Fernandez, aside from a fluke drag bunt single by De Aza in the sixth that Realmuto just couldn’t handle. After Granderson and Walker struck out swinging on curveballs, Conforto singled to right field. Loney poked another through the infield to Ichiro to drive Conforto to third base. In trouble for the first time, Fernandez turned to what had made him dominant all afternoon, and threw his 39th, 40th, 41st and 42nd curveballs of the game to Wilmer Flores, who struck out swinging on the last of those pitches and ending the threat.

With David Phelps in to pitch in the eighth, the Mets were able to at least get bat on ball a bit more, but Rene Rivera, Yoenis Cespedes and De Aza still went down in order. Antonio Bastardo replaced Harvey in the eighth, and there was some activity after Ichiro hit a single, but was picked off to end the inning.

It looked to be over in the top of the ninth against Marlins’ closer AJ Ramos, who came out throwing a little harder than his usual 92 miles per hour, and indeed it was. With two outs and two strikes, Walker did give a brief flicker of hope with a deep drive to center field, but Marcell Ozuna easily put it away just in front of the warning track.

NOTES

-Harvey’s strikeout of Justin Bour in the second inning was the 500th of his career

-Jose Fernandez’s 14 strikeouts tied a single-game high.

-No batter on either side drew a walk the whole game.

-Cespedes was able to work through a right hip injury that kept him out  of the lineup to pinch hit in the eighth.

-Juan Lagares has a sprained left thumb and is heading back to New York to get it checked out.

-The Mets will continue the road trip by flying up to Pittsburgh to face Jon Niese today for the first time since he left Queens.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports