The scoreboard high above left field had been mocking them all night. The scoreboard mocked a dugout full of baseball players whose bats had only managed one run for the better part of two days. The scoreboard mocked Sean Manaea, who pitched brilliantly again for seven innings but was trailing 1-0 for long stretches.
“I was watching,” Manaea admitted of the scoreboard. “I was definitely watching it.”
The Dodgers were leading 1-0 in Atlanta. Then they were leading 2-0, 3-0, 5-0. With less than two weeks left in the season, the Dodgers were trying to give the Mets a helping hand. Of course, that's part of trying to make the playoffs. Sometimes you have to rely on the kindness of others. But ultimately, you have to help yourself, too.
The Mets were helpless inning after inning.
Washington Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin dominated the Mets lineup inning after inning, just as he had on the Fourth of July. He threw eight scoreless innings for the Mets, and then current Mets right fielder Jesse Winker hit a home run off long-departed pitcher Adrian Hauser for a 1-0 victory.
“We just didn't hit the ball hard enough against him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. The 21,694 in the stands backed that up with anxious groans. And best of all, the scoreboard was stoking them. The Mets had a chance. All they needed was to buy one, and then one more.
Mendoza: “We have good players on this team. They know how to find a way.”
In Philadelphia, they struggled to find a win Saturday or Sunday, suffering two straight tough losses with little to help them. The Braves are tied with the Dodgers at four games to none. In Phoenix, Brewers manager Pat Murphy opted not to use dominating closer Devin Williams, despite the team having a two-run lead going into the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday.
Williams looked furious as he watched from the bullpen.
It's a neat imitation of the anger of Mets fans who might have snuck a peek at the bottom of the 10th inning as the Diamondbacks produced four singles and a hit batter to win the game, 11-10.
The Dodgers were leading 6-0 at this point, then 9-0.
At Citi Field, the Nationals still led 1-0 when Tyrone Taylor doubled to the corners to lead off the top of the eighth. He was standing on third base with one out when pinch-hitter Starling Marte hit a weak grounder to shortstop. It was as if the Dodgers were hearing a telepathic message. “We're here trying to give back to you guys.”
City groaned.
But the thing about this Mets team is that even when they struggle, everyone is able to do the little things well, which keeps most of their games close. Eddie Alvarez (the best speed skater in team history, tied with Lee Mazzilli) showed two great plays in his 15 minutes with the Mets: a deft touch and a nice flip off the glove.
Luis Angel Acuña, who played for about 10 minutes, perfectly defended his position as a reserve player in the final innings, even though a nervous pitcher's mistake would have cost the team the lead.
But no one embodied that team spirit more than Jose Iglesias, who spent most of the spring soaking up the warm weather in Syracuse, who hit a ball down the baseline to tie the game in the eighth inning and made the surprisingly smart call to catch a fumbled throw by Alvarez in the ninth.
And when Iglesias came up to bat in the ninth, Marte had a chance to prove what Bob Murphy always claimed: “Baseball is a redeeming sport.” This time, he hit a ball down the left field line. Harrison Bader scored. The Mets won, 2-1. The Dodgers won, 9-0. The Mets led the Braves by one game with 12 games remaining.
The team received encouraging news about Francisco Lindor earlier in the day, and he might be ready in time for the season-ending 10-game steeplechase against the Phillies, Braves and Brewers. For now, he's leading the team off the bench. For now, the team is looking to its supporting players for answers. On Monday, it was Marte, Acuna, Iglesias and Manaea. On Tuesday, Mark Vientos, Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez might get out of trouble.
“It's important for the rest of us to carry that burden,” Marte said after doing his part. “Especially now, that's what we need to do.”
Especially now. The scoreboard will be ready by 7:10, first pitch Tuesday night. By then, the Braves will already be in the second inning in Cincinnati. High in left field, everyone will be there, taunting, teasing, taunting. Then it's the Mets' turn. That's when the real fun — and the real pain — begins.
