There might be games left on the schedule, but you’ll forgive Mets fans for believing the season over. A day after the team announced that Zack Wheeler would be shut down until 2019 due to workload, fan favorite Wilmer Flores was shut down for the year — diagnosed with early onset arthritis. The games already didn’t matter, but now each calendar day seems to bring new heartbreak.

The heartbreak at Nationals Park was less monumental, but a more-or-less solid Jason Vargas start (5.2 innings, three runs [two earned] and eight strikeouts) was nevertheless squandered by the bullpen who couldn’t protect a two-run lead, surrendering a pair in the eighth inning.

Vargas’ counterpart for the Nationals, Cy Young contender Max Scherzer struck out 13, bringing him to 290 strikeouts on the year, eclipsing his previous season high of 284 strikeouts in 2016. Scherzer went seven innings, surrendering three runs.

Outside their wobble in the eighth, the bullpen managed to hold the tie into extra innings.

Amed Rosario led off the 12th with a single off Nationals reliever Jefry Rodriguez and was sacrificed to second by Jeff McNeil. Two walks — an intentional one to Michael Conforto and an inadvertent one to Jay Bruce — loaded the bases for former National Jose Lobaton, who drove in Rosario with a sacrifice fly. Paul Sewald came in the bottom of the 12th for his second save.

Mickey Callaway was ejected by home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the 12th, Reyburn ejected Bryce Harper after a called third strike, for balance.

Conforto continued his good hitting against Scherzer, one of the best pitchers to ever play the game, with a two-run home run in the third to begin the scoring (and three walks). Bruce followed with a solo home run — but that was as mortal as Scherzer ever got. Anthony Rendon continued to be a Met killer, driving in three runs.

The road trip continues tonight as Jacob deGrom (8-9, 1.78) faces Joe Ross (0-0, 3.60) at Nationals Park; first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Jacob deGrom was brilliant once again and the Mets still somehow found a new and excruciating way to lose. The Mets ace worked in and out of trouble all night, allowing seven hits, none of which were hard hit, and one earned run while striking out a career high-tying 13 Cubs. It was a masterful performance by deGrom, who loaded the bases in the first before striking out two to end the inning, but the offense that’s failed him time and time again was up to the same old tricks Saturday. The only Met run came on a Michael Conforto solo shot off Cubs starter Mike Montgomery in the sixth inning.

In an attempt to win what sure seemed like a must-win game for the Mets, Mickey Callaway burned through his entire bullpen minus Paul Sewald. He was rewarded with clean innings by all of them, minus Buddy Baumann and Gerson Bautista. Baumann was added to the roster as Jerry Blevins insurance, a valid move in theory considering Blevins’ struggles thus far, except for the fact that he’s much worse than Jerry Blevins. Bautista throws a 100 mph fastball and, well, that’s about it. His secondary offerings leave a lot to be desired and while the young flamethrower deserved a chance, it’s apparent he’ll require some more seasoning in the minors. The Mets need to work with the 23-year-old on his slider and changeup if they ever plan for him to be a bullpen mainstay.

Kevin Plawecki got his first career start at first base and it went just as well poorly as one might’ve imagined. In an attempt to hide Adrian Gonzalez against left-handed pitching, the Mets chose to call-up old friend Jose Lobaton in order for Plawecki to get starts at first. Yes, the same Plawecki who owns reverse splits (.228/.321/.311 vs RHP, .196/.277/.290 vs LHP) and whose only value to the organization comes from his work behind the plate is now part of a platoon at first base. Plawecki was 0-5 while the Mets still chose to pinch hit Gonzalez and Jay Bruce against left-handers. It’s not like the Mets have a right-handed hitting first baseman in the minors who destroys left-handed pitching, so the move at least makes some sense. What was that?  You mean to tell me they do have a righty first baseman prospect who tees off on lefties and is close to major league ready? Yet they still somehow believe this current roster configuration gives them the best chance to win? Welcome to the Mets, my friends.

OTHER METS NEWS

Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Braves, the Mets announced a flurry of moves, the most controversial of which was the stunning decision to designate P.J Conlon for assignment. Now, Conlon’s no world-beater, but he’s flashed potential as a bullpen piece in the Jerry Blevins mold and surely could have provided some value as some much-needed depth. With a fastball that barely touches 90 mph, Conlon relies on a good changeup and a funky delivery that has proven effective once through the order. Although he had minor league options, the Mets chose to designate him to free up a 40-man spot for Scott Copeland, a 30-year-old reliever who was on turn at Binghamton.

It was a puzzling move that lacked comprehension: teams don’t cut pitchers with minor league options who can provide value in the big leagues, especially when said team is in constant need of pitchers. Except that’s inexplicably exactly what the Mets did. I theorized in Week Five of the Prospect Watch that the Mets had no idea what they had in Conlon and apparently they didn’t have any interest in finding out.

The corresponding move for Conlon was Copeland, who threw all of 22 pitches Thursday before he himself was designated for assignment. He struck out two in one inning of relief and was a fresh arm for a bullpen in dire need of one. Mets brass somehow concluded that Jose Lobaton’s presence was again required on the active roster, so the only logical move was to designate Copeland. So they could carry three catchers. Who all can’t hit.

Did you think it couldn’t get any worse? Because it’s about to get worse. Mickey Callaway told reporters Friday night that the Mets had only three available relievers in the bullpen: Paul Sewald, Tim Peterson and Jeurys Familia. If the Mets didn’t need Lobaton to complete the Jose, Jose, Jose bench, they could’ve held on to Copeland, who’s been stretched out as a starter with Binghamton. It simply would’ve made too much sense though, so Copeland was sent packing while Callaway overworked Sewald, Friday night’s losing pitcher.

I’m assuming you thought that this was the end of the rant. Well guess what, I’m here to tell you this isn’t the end of the rant. What could possibly be worse than this you might ask? Well by designating Conlon, the Mets ensured he’d have to pass through waivers in order to remain with the organization. The Dodgers, an organization seemingly always in need of pitchers, claimed Conlon Saturday. Which means the Mets gave up on an intriguing 24-year-old left-handed pitcher for 22 pitches from Scott Copeland. Not 22 starts from Copeland, nor 22 innings. 22 measly pitches!

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

Going into Tuesday’s game, Jason Vargas had a 16.20 ERA and a 5.40 HR/9. Luis Castillo had a 7.01 ERA and a 1.82 HR/9. Great American Ball Park allows almost 10% more home runs than the average ballpark. The Mets and Reds combined for 15 extra base hits Monday night, including seven home runs. All the ingredients were in place for a real laser show.

Game recap

Vargas certainly got that memo, as Cincinnati rolled through him for the get-go. The Reds had three hits, two runs and a hit batter before Vargas recorded an out in the first inning, and they added two more runs in the bottom of the third. Surprisingly, nothing left the yard, but batters were hitting everything Vargas dished out hard. He departed after four innings in a 4-0 whole, an outing that actually lowered his ERA to 6.75.

Castillo, meanwhile, saw that memo and decided to shred it. Whatever mechanical tweak he made in his last start carried over, and the Mets were totally flummoxed by his fastball-changeup combination. Amed Rosario had the Mets’ first hit with two outs in the fifth, and that was the only baserunner they managed for the first five innings.

Things at least got a bit interesting in the sixth, when Wilmer Flores hit a solo home run to cut the Read lead to 4-1. Three batters later, Castillo was oddly pulled after only 81 pitches, and the Mets went to work against Amir Garrett with two out and two on. Jay Bruce and Adrian Gonzalez walked to force in a run, but Mickey Callaway made a very odd decision to pinch hit with Brandon Nimmo against a lefty despite having three right-handed bats (Juan Lagares, Devin Mesoraco and Jose Lobaton) on the bench.

Missing that opportunity stung, but in the end, it didn’t really matter. Hansel Robles came in with a runner on third and one out in the bottom of the seventh and promptly served up two singles, a walk and a home run that stretched the Reds’ lead to 7-2. And, because it’s the Mets, Robles finished his outing by getting injured fielding a bunt, forcing Paul Sewald into the game after throwing 28 pitches in 1.2 innings Monday (it only took him five pitches to get through 1.1 innings Tuesday, so it could have been worse).

The Mets put together another threat in the top of the eighth, but Gonzalez hit into another one of those inexplicable double plays where you realize he has less foot speed than your average cheese sandwich, and the Mets didn’t score. A Lagares single in the ninth led to nothing, and the Mets lost 7-2. It has been almost a month since the Mets won back-to-back games (April 11 and 12), and their record now sits at 18-16.

Thoughts from the game

Wow, almost like the Mets didn’t adequately address their pitching staff last season. Maybe when your starters have a 4.43 ERA (11th worst in the majors) and your bullpen’s ERA is pushing four, you should do more than add a pop-up reliever and a 35-year-old starter with a career ERA of 4.25. Just a thought.

With Todd Frazier out, there is no reason why Wilmer Flores should not be starting every day. Instead, Mickey Callaway turned to Jose Reyes and his .128/.171/.205 batting line to fill in. Hopefully that decision won’t stick, because a decent proportion of the Met fan population will blow several gaskets if they have to sit through two or three weeks of Reyes playing everyday when younger, better, more interesting options abound.

Other Mets news

The big news of the day was the Matt Harvey trade, of course. After drawing comparisons to Tom Seaver early in his career, Harvey was shipped off to the same team as The Franchise, as the Mets sent him to Cincinnati in exchange for catcher Devin Mesoraco. The Reds will be paying the remainder of Mesoraco’s salary while the Mets pick up the rest of Harvey’s, essentially reallocating those funds to a lottery ticket in an area of extreme need. Objectively, this is a great return. It’d be tough for Matt Harvey to have less value at this point, and the Mets some help for a catching tandem that has hit .164/.247/.233 since Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud went down in early April.

That’s not to say that Devin Mesoraco will for sure be the answer. Over the past three seasons, he’s has been healthy for all of 95 games, compiling -0.6 WARP. The upside is his 2014 season, when Mesoraco was an All Star and posted a .273/.359/.534 line en route to 4.9 WARP. The litany of injuries (both hip labrums, left shoulder labrum, left foot fracture) have sapped his framing ability, but he’s not a total disaster behind the plate, and even a little bit of competency with the bat would make him an upgrade. If you’re feeling optimistic, people around the Reds supposedly think he’s healthy for the first time in years, for whatever that’s worth.

As stated earlier, Todd Frazier was placed on the 10-day DL after fighting through a hamstring injury for the last couple of weeks. Luis Guillorme will reportedly be called up to add some extra infield depth, with Tomas Nido expected to head back to the minors. P.J. Conlon was also optioned back to Triple-A, with Corey Oswalt being recalled to give the Mets bullpen a bit of extra depth.

Photo credit: Aaron Doster – USA Today Sports

The Belfast Blur

After hyperextending his elbow last Wednesday, many feared that Jacob deGrom would have to miss an extended period of time (no pun intended). Instead, the Mets announced that the injury was not serious and he would, in fact, start today against the Reds. But wait, then they ended up backtracking on this sentiment and placed deGrom on the disabled list retroactive to May 3. With a potential bullpen game behind Seth Lugo on the table, the Mets opted to call up P.J. Conlon from Triple-A to make his major league debut.

Conlon toeing the rubber was, in fact, far more significant than just his first major league game: the former University of San Diego standout would became the first Irish-born player to appear in a major league game since 1945. Conlon was born in Belfast, Ireland and relocated to California with his family at the age of 2.

The 24-year-old left-hander did not have the picture-perfect MLB debut that every pitcher dreams but battled nevertheless. After tossing two scoreless innings, Conlon surrendered his first major league hit in third — a home run off the bat of Billy Hamilton. He would run into more trouble in the fourth, giving up three doubles and a walk that would eventually spell his exit from tonight’s contest.

Even when you consider that he was facing the lowly Reds, Conlon did demonstrate an ability to locate his pitches and induce non-threatening fly balls. The Belfast Blur (patent pending) did not light up the radar gun, sitting in the mid- to high-80s), but still fooled hitters enough to get through. With a little more experience, he could potentially fine-tune his crafty abilities and contribute to a Mets rotation that is desperately looking for starting pitching help right now.

Bats Bats Bats

It’s important to note that entering last night’s game Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce and Amed Rosario were all visibly slumping. Our editor-in-chief, Kate Feldman, put it best when she tweeted, “Honestly god bless Cincinnati.” It’s important to use games against lower tier to find a rhythm offensively and that’s just what this trio did. Conforto led off the game with an opposite-field home run and finished 2-for-5. Bruce launched a two-run homer in the third (second all-time in home runs at Great American Ball Park behind Joey Votto), as well as grabbing another base hit and two walks. Rosario launched two doubles, one of which was only a few feet away from being his first home run of the 2018 season. He also recorded a sacrifice fly in the second. Yoenis Cespedes remains on a tear, smacking two more doubles. Even automatic out Jose Lobaton got involved in the action, lacing a double in the second.

Gonzo Goes Yatzo (Twice)

But the salt and pepper shaker for Monday night’s game belongs to Adrian Gonzalez. Under tremendous scrutiny about his age and slipping play, A-Gon silenced all the haters, at least for a night, with a 3-for-4 performance. After knocking a single in the second, Gonzalez launched homers into the cheap seats in the third and fifth innings. Before he stepped in the box Monday, Gonzalez already had six home runs off of Reds’ starter and Christian Bale look-alike Homer Bailey; his third-inning blast would be his seventh. There has a been a lot of talk about whether Gonzalez should remain the everyday first baseman going forward. With Jay Bruce’s ability to play first, Brandon Nimmo’s hot bat and Peter Alonso tearing up Double-A, it almost felt like Gonzalez’s days were numbered. If he can continue to produce at this current rate, he should be safe to buy a good amount of time in the major leagues.

Bullpen Wraps It Up

After Conlon departed in the fourth, Paul Sewald replaced him and labored through 1.2 innings. After surrendering three hits and two runs, Robert Gsellman was called upon to follow him in the sixth. Gsellman would also allow a run, making it a one-run game, but Jeurys Familia shut the door on a surprisingly clean inning in the ninth. Gsellman would record the victory and now sits at 4-0 on the season.

The Mets are back at it again tonight in Cincinnati at 7:10. Jason Vargas (*gulp*) will attempt to rebound from two awful starts as he faces Reds right-hander Luis Castillo.

Photo credit: David Kohl – USA Today Sports

The Ian Desmond-led Colorado Rockies

WHAT HAPPENED, NOAH SYNDERGAARD DID NOT HAVE A NICE START:

The easiest thing to do is to start with the negative.
Sept. 7, 2016 was the last time Noah Syndergaard issued four free-passes in one start. In fact, over 68 career big league starts, Syndergaard had walked four or more batters just three times. In start number 69, that number would grow to four. He also surrendered a home run to Ian Desmond, which is less than ideal.
As Gary and Keith discussed on the SNY broadcast, Syndergaard just isn’t missing as many bats with his harder stuff as we are used to seeing. While they might be right, there is one reason that makes the most sense. Leading up to this start, we know that Syndergaard is getting more swings on his fourseam fastball and less swings on his sinker. Both are, for the most part, not good. Why? Thor isn’t getting whiffs on these pitches at the rates he typically does. In addition, he is doing things that would make sense as to why hitters are reacting this way. More pitches outside the strike zone with his sinker, more ‘grooved‘ fourseamers. But, at the end of the day, these differences aren’t greatly noticeable.
Is there something wrong with his pitches? No, not really. His spin rates look great, some have even increased. If you wanted a difference to point to, it’s that Syndergaard’s velocity down just enough to mention. This is easy to write off, and probably means nothing, as most pitchers aren’t throwing their hardest in April and May. After two mediocre starts in a row, there are a couple potential reasons/flags to watch. Maybe Syndergaard needs to utilize his high-velo/spin rate mix by pitching higher in the strike zone with his fastballs. Maybe he could lean even more on his offspeed pitch-mix.
The main, and correct, one? We’re just too freaking greedy.
For all the worrying, Syndergaard still worked six innings and held the Rockies to just two runs. He left Sunday’s outing with a lower season ERA than the one he entered with. After loading the bases with no outs to start the third inning, the only damage came from a walked-in run. Syndergaard worked himself out of each jam presented, despite most being the kind he created. While he didn’t look comfortable on the mound all day, this just seems to be a case of Thor working through some early season struggles — relatively speaking. It is certainly not the time to hit the panic button.

WHAT HAPPENED, THE IAN DESMOND GAME:

As all truly mediocre hitters do, Ian Desmond came into Sunday batting .282/.341/.490 against the Mets over his career. Having already homered off Syndergaard in the second — and despite the fact that Jerry Blevins and AJ Ramos worked a clean seventh inning — the righty was out for more. He could smell blood. He needed more.
Enter Hansel Robles, who promptly provided Desmond with the home run he desired. After giving the Rockies a 3-2 lead, Desmond knew it would be enough. It was the Sabbath, after all. He rested.

WHAT HAPPENED, THE FIRST IS THE EASIEST (AND THE ONLY):

The Mets showed up to hit in the first inning, kicking things off with three straight singles and a sac fly. After trips to the plate by Juan Lagares, Yoenis Cespedes, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Todd Frazier, the Mets held an early 2-0 lead — the first in a week. That joyous occasion would quickly halt, as the bats would stay dormant until the ninth inning. One batter after a Wilmer Flores walk in the ninth, Adrian Gonzalez would dump a hit into left field — putting runners on first and second with two outs.
The fun would stop there, as Tomas Nido would be called upon to pinch hit with the winning run at first base. Why, you ask? Brandon Nimmo subbed in for an injured Yoenis Cespedes after the first inning, Michael Conforto pinch hit in the seventh and Jose Reyes was put in to run for Flores after his walk. The decision ultimately came down to letting Jose Lobaton or Nido hit, with Mickey Callaway deciding in favor of the latter —using Gonzalez to hit in Lobaton’s place. The decision proved futile, as Nido struckout to frisbee-thrower Adam Ottavino to end the game.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

Syndergaard didn’t have his best stuff, but was able to work through six innings of two-run ball. At the plate, the Mets looked to have a promising afternoon ahead of them. In the end, however, they were stymied by Colorado lefty Kyle Freeland — extending their losing streak to six games.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets start a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds, which could not possibly have come at a better time. The Mets will send rookie P.J. Conlon to the mound for his Major League debut, and will square off against Homer Bailey. Maybe a small ballpark and a guy named Homer will help restart the Mets at the plate.

Photo credit: Gregory Fisher – USA Today Sports

For the second consecutive day, New York’s offense got off to a fast start, as Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with a double into the left center field gap and later scored on a Todd Frazier single. The Mets’ early rally stalled with just the one run after Wilmer Flores bounced into an inning ending double play, but with the stuff number 48 in gray had last night, that one run felt like an insurmountable advantage.

deGrom was in complete control from the get-go, needing only 10 pitches to get through Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer and Christian Villanueva in the Padres’ first, and in the second inning he threw only eight pitches, aided by Jose Lobaton gunning down Franchy Cordero after a lead-off single. Offensively, the Mets threatened in virtually every frame, but San Diego starter Clayton Richard did a nice job of keeping his club in the game, as New York was unable to extend their lead in the relatively uneventful middle innings.

The drama finally began to heighten in the seventh, as after Juan Lagares and Lobaton led off the inning with back-to-back hits to set the table, Richard retired deGrom on a sacrifice bunt and Amed Rosario on a ground ball with the infield in. With their starter on the brink of getting out of trouble, rather than allow Richard to turn the line-up over a fourth time San Diego opted to go to the bullpen, summoning right-hander Craig Stammen. Cabrera greeted the veteran rudely, delivering the big hit New York has been missing in recent days, crushing a long three-run homer on the first pitch he saw, extending the Mets’ lead to 4-0 and essentially signaling game over.

After a relatively easy seventh that watched deGrom walk off the hill just shy of 100 pitches, he was somewhat surprisingly allowed to bat for himself in the top of the eighth, striking out to end a productive offensive inning for New York, as Lobaton had extended the lead to 5-0 with an RBI double. In the eighth, the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year struck out pinch-hitter Matt Szczur to open the inning, but after Myers roped a base hit, Mickey Callaway removed deGrom from the game, turning it over to a bullpen that has been shaky of late. Jerry Blevins gave the road dugout a scare shortly after entering the contest, as the left hander allowed Hosmer to crush a ball to right field that the park was just big enough to allow Michael Conforto to make a leaping grab at the wall.

The final drama in this one came in the bottom of the ninth, as Callaway ushered *relief pitcher* Matt Harvey into the game for the final three outs, but it didn’t take long for Harvey to make his manager nervous. Cordero led off with a long homer to dead center field, and Harvey then lost Jose Pirela to a walk. After going full on Carlos Asuaje, Harvey was fortunate to get him to finally loft a routine fly ball to center field for the first out. Freddy Galvis then rolled into a 4-6-3 to end the game, earning the Mets a needed win.

New York will continue their weekend get together with the Padres tonight with Jason Vargas set to make his first start of 2018 opposite San Diego rookie southpaw Joey Lucchesi.

Photo credit: Jake Roth – USA Today Sports

The cliché that baseball is a game of inches was never more true as the Mets came within a few of them of escaping St. Louis with a win Thursday. As the baseball hit off Jose Martinez’ bat eluded Juan Lagares’ glove in deep center field in the bottom of the 12th inning to tie the game, it marked the second time that afternoon that the team had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

It’s a special kind of team to have two blown saves in one game. In distinguishing themselves, the team wasted an absolute gem from Noah Syndergaard, who protected a one-run lead through 7.1 innings, striking out seven with nothing but a no-decision to show for it.

In the bottom of the eighth, Amed Rosario’s error gave the Cardinals a leadoff runner. Even though Syndergaard rallied to strike out Yadier Molina with his 100th pitch, Matt Carpenter singled on the 101st. Robert Gsellman inherited runners on the corners with one out, and promptly conceded a single to Tommy Pham on his first pitch, erasing the lead and wiping out Syndergaard’s effort.

For much of the game, that effort seemed like it was going to be more than enough. The Mets had gotten on the board in the top of the first as Brandon Nimmo reached on a leadoff hit-by-pitch and scored on a double to left by Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes accounted for the second Mets run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh that scored Rosario. Those hiccups aside, Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez went six innings, surrendering one run and striking out three.

In the top of the 10th inning, the Cardinals pitched around Adrian Gonzalez to face light-hitting Jose Lobaton with the bases loaded. Lobaton drew a five-pitch walk, giving the Mets a one-run lead. Jeurys Familia got the Mets within an out of the victory in the bottom of the 10th, retiring the first two batters before Pham singled with his fourth hit of the game. Martinez crushed a ball to right of center field, and Lagares’ awkward leaping attempt in an unfamiliar ballpark allowed Pham to score all the way from first.

The teams traded zeros, as clearly no one wanted to leave the ballpark until the 13th, when Martinez drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a Marcell Ozuna single, and scored on a Dexter Fowler single to Nimmo, whose throw to the plate was up the line.

It was a Jekyll and Hyde routine from the Mets bullpen, as Seth Lugo and AJ Ramos provided scoreless frames in the ninth and 11th innings, respectively, while Gsellman and Familia could not keep the Cardinals from scoring. Paul Sewald, who came in in the 12th, was tagged for the loss, his first of the year. John Gant earned a win for the Cardinals with his three innings of relief.

The Mets head to San Diego Friday, where they will take on the Padres at 10.10 p.m. Jacob deGrom (2-0, 2.53) will face Clayton Richard (1-2, 5.67).

Photo credit: Joe Puetz – USA Today Sports

In 2015, the Mets had the most vaunted array of young, hard-throwing arms. It was so easy to dream of the rotation the Mets were going to have. The rotation would’ve been just a cavalcade of one fireballer after another. It would’ve been a spectacle. Unfortunately, things rarely work out as planned. Dreams fail. Two and a half years later, two of the young studs still remain effective pitchers, while the rest are left picking up the pieces of their careers.

Failure is hard to endure, and it’s hard to see others endure it. Watching a young pitcher who once had it all struggle to get outs is one of the hardest things for a fan to watch. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We’ve spent lots of time lamenting the rotation that could have been, but this isn’t going to be yet another be a requiem for that dream. Look, the dream is dead. We have to move on.

Failure is hard to accept, but accepting it and moving forward is absolutely necessary for success. And right now, the Mets might have to accept the reality that Steven Matz just might not be a major-league starting pitcher anymore. And it looks like they’re close to doing that.

Of course, only three of the seven runs Matz gave up last night were actually earned. His defense let him down, and he got no favors from the BABIP fairy. That said, he didn’t exactly look good, either. He missed his spots, hung some breaking pitches and gave up some loud contact as well.

A start like this is one you could give a pitcher a pass for; it wasn’t all his fault. The Mets made three errors behind him and looked awful in all facets. But you can’t give a pitcher a pass for a start like this when he hasn’t pitched well in almost a calendar year. In his last 14 starts dating back to early July of last season, Matz has a game score over 50 in just two of those starts: August 12 against the Phillies and April 7 against the Nationals earlier this month. Everything else has been a sub-par outing.

Look, I don’t mean to write off Matz, because he isn’t done yet. I’m not throwing in the towel on him, because he still has time. He’s only made a few starts this year, and he pitched through pain all of last year. But you can’t make excuses for him anymore. He’s battled myriad injuries, and those injuries have taken much of what once made him promising. His sinker has lost about three mph of velocity, he doesn’t throw his slider anymore, his curve isn’t what it once was and his impeccable control is gone.

The Mets probably shouldn’t pull the plug on Matz just yet, but they should start seriously entertaining the thought of Seth Lugo in the rotation and Steven Matz as a left-handed reliever. Ultimately, Matz has shown flashes this year of being competent, but at some point, a team gunning for the playoffs needs more than simply flashes of competence from one of their starters. They need sustained quality and legitimate success. And Matz hasn’t had that since 2016.

Lugo, on the other hand, earned a starting spot out of spring training and was, perhaps unjustly, moved to the bullpen after the first time through the rotation.

After Matz was removed last night, Corey Oswalt made his MLB debut, entering into a jam in the fourth inning. He allowed a few inherited runners to score, and gave up a two-run homer to Jedd Gyorko, but ultimately gave the Mets exactly what they needed: 4.2 innings in relief, biting the bullet and eating the rest of the innings in the game to save the Mets bullpen. So kudos to Oswalt.

On offense, the Mets scored one run off seven hits. The one run scored on a Jay Bruce single in the third. Todd Frazier was the only person to reach base twice. Jose Lobaton finally got another hit.

The Cardinals scored nine runs.

These games will happen.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

– Asdrubal Cabrera has a hamstring issue, which means the baseball season is officially underway. Cabrera sat last night and is day-to-day.

– Matt Harvey cursed out some reporters. Maybe you heard about it.

WHAT’S NEXT:

The Mets play the rubber game against the Cardinals at 1:15 p.m. today in St. Louis. Noah Syndergaard takes on Carlos Martinez in an Opening Day rematch.

Photo credit: Jeff Curry – USA Today Sports

The unimaginable has happened, folks, as the New York Mets finally lost a baseball game. After Friday night’s thrilling 6-4 victory over the Brewers extended the winning streak to nine, the Mets sent Matt Harvey to the hill Saturday in search of number ten. Milwaukee sent out staff ace Chase Anderson, hoping to get back over .500 on the young season.

It was a cold April night in Flushing, 55 degrees and windy, but the Mets bats were somehow even colder. The Metropolitans couldn’t get anything going against Anderson, who held them hitless through four and two-thirds before an Amed Rosario infield single broke up the no-hitter. During the aforementioned nine consecutive wins, the Mets were scoring an average of exactly five runs per game. Saturday was a different story though, as the Mets could only muster three hits on the evening, all singles.

Harvey made his third start of the season for the Mets, producing an outing much more reminiscent of his second start than his first; he was tagged for four runs on eight hits Saturday, and the damage came via the long ball. After a clean first inning, Harvey gave up a leadoff double to Travis Shaw and walked Domingo Santana to start the second. Harvey got Eric Sogard to strike out swinging for the first out of the inning but ran into trouble against Jonathan Villar. Jose Lobaton called for a fastball away, a pitch Harvey executed, but Villar sliced it down the left field line for a three-run home run to open the scoring. It wasn’t a bad pitch by Harvey, but Villar squared it up, as Statcast had the ball with an exit velocity of 103 mph. Harvey looked shocked on the mound afterward, as what seemed to be a foul ball carried over the fence in fair territory, likely due to the high winds in Queens. The Brewers’ only other run off Harvey came on a 92 mph fastball right down the middle that Jett Bandy sent to the moon.

It was easy to be encouraged after Harvey’s first start of the season against Philadelphia, where he allowed only one hit and struck out five over five innings. His last two starts have resembled the 2017 Harvey though, as he’s given up four runs to both Washington and Milwaukee, forcing the Mets to the bullpen earlier than they would’ve liked. He failed to pitch into the sixth inning Saturday and has not been able to exceed five innings pitched for a Met record eleventh consecutive start.

Harvey’s second consecutive bad outing could have massive ramifications for his spot in the starting rotation. With free-agent acquisition Jason Vargas close to a return, Mickey Callaway and Sandy Alderson are going to have a big decision to make in the coming weeks. It’s been quite the fall from grace for the right-hander, who earned the moniker “The Dark Knight” and was once must-see TV every time he took the bump. Of course, I did say that Harvey would have an ERA below 3.70 this season (that’s not looking too good, but hey, it’s early.) If I had to guess, Callaway and Alderson are going to give Harvey one more turn in the rotation to show why he deserves to stay. That next turn is currently scheduled for the opening game of a four-game series against the second place Atlanta Braves next Thursday. Although I expect Harvey to get the start, it’s assuredly not out of the realm of possibility that someone else is throwing the first pitch.

On the other side of the diamond, Chase Anderson was terrific all night for Milwaukee, but Craig Counsell pulled a Don Mattingly and went to the bullpen with Anderson at only 87 pitches after six and a third. Rosario and Yoenis Cespedes got the only hits off Anderson, both singles, and neither was hit particularly hard. Counsell brought Jeremy Jeffress to secure the final two outs of the seventh, and Todd Frazier singled to right for the Mets’ only other hit of the evening.

With closer Corey Knebel on the DL, Milwaukee leads the majors in blown saves this season with an almost-hard-to-believe seven in only 15 games. Counsell turned to Josh Hader, a former top 100 prospect, for a two-inning save. The Mets had to be happy to see anyone besides Anderson, but Hader struck out the first five batters he faced and induced a fly out from Bruce to finish off the win.

In other Met news, Hansel Robles was up to his usual tricks, as he struck out Villar and Bandy before allowing a solo homer to Orlando Arcia to close the scoring. It’s unclear if Robles will see high leverage work moving forward, but Met fans are seemingly growing tired of his penchant for pointing at every single fly ball he gives up.

One positive that came from last night’s game was the return of Paul Sewald. It’s unclear why Sewald has been so seldom used to start the year, but he earned himself more work with his performance Saturday. Called on in relief of Harvey, he was terrific in only his third appearance of the season, facing the minimum in his three innings, striking out five and potentially passing The Pointing Guy on the bullpen totem pole. The successful outing was a big relief for the Mets bullpen, which has been extremely busy to start the season due to the rotation’s inability to pitch into the sixth inning.

The Mets will send out Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 3.94) against Jhoulys Chacin (0-1, 6.59) in today’s rubber game.

Photo credit: Adam Hunger – USA Today Sports