For eight innings, the Mets pitched, hit, and played some pretty basic baseball.
The ninth and 10th innings were chaotic and ultimately cost them.
In front of a crowd of 28,086 at Citi Field on Monday, the Mets suffered a stomach-churning loss in the series opener to the Phillies, but in a tumultuous ninth inning, Edwin Diaz struck again. He also made a save.
The Mets (19-21) lost three of the first four games in this supposedly meaningful seven-game series against the Braves and Phillies, but the most recent games have been particularly painful.
“I’m happy that we gave the ball to the closer and got the opportunity,” coach Carlos Mendoza said after Diaz made his second save in the past four games.
The Mets entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a 2-up lead, but the game began to change when Bryson Stott hit an inside fastball that wasn’t even a strike.
Stott’s pitch, which Diaz said was “two inches from the plate,” cut the lead to one point with a home run, but that’s when Diaz’s command problems resurfaced.
After Cody Clemens singled, Diaz walked Brandon Marsh with a walk. He bounced back and struck out Kyle Schwarber, inducing a popout from Garrett Stubbs.
But the pitch that angered Diaz and Mendoza the most was the fourth pitch to Whit Merrifield, which appeared to have turned the bat but was ruled to have checked the swing.
“That changed the game,” Diaz said. Diaz was much calmer than an enraged Mendoza screaming from the dugout. “Obviously he took a swing. I saw the video.”
Still, there was a chance that Diaz could have gotten away and led Alec Bohm 0-2, but his third pitch was a 98 mph fastball, and Diaz knocked it down, pivoting it and hitting Bohm in the hand. (And he just took the knob off the bat), Diaz said.
A loaded home run tied the game, and the Mets lost in the 10th inning.
Diaz said he had “let the team down” and blamed his control for the explosion. “[Sean] Reed-Foley took the loss, but I think it was about me because I went in with a two-point lead and beat them. ”
The Mets collectively won in extras. Reed and Foley’s pitch split Thomas Nido’s leg, allowing ghostrunner Bryce Harper to advance to third base. Reed-Foley walked Nick Castellanos after the Mets asked for confirmation that it really was ball 4 and not ball 3, and then scored the game-winning run on Stott’s sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the inning, Joey Wendle, who has had some tough moments this season as a spot starter, bunted against Jose Alvarado to get an out.
Harrison Bader grounded out, Jeff McNeil caught fire, and the Ghostrunner was stranded for a frustrating finish.
All the good things in the beginning and middle were forgotten by the end.
Sean Manaea pitched 6 innings, giving up only 1 run and 4 hits on drag bunts (3 of which were mediocre hits), 1 walk, and 1 run.
Manaea, who suffered a slump in a loss to the Royals on April 13, started five games and pitched 26/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs and lowering his season ERA to 3.05.
His dominance with the Phillies was especially encouraging, as the offense scored more points and entered plays than any team other than the Dodgers.
“We didn’t rewrite the script,” Manaea said. Manaea’s best pitch of the night was a sinker. “They’re just attacking guys.”
He got help from Bader, who saved a run on a sliding catch by Johan Rojas in the fourth, and also got help from the club’s right slugger.
Pete Alonso and JD Martinez combined to reach 7 of 10 at-bats.
In the second inning, two players hit back-to-back doubles to score one run, and Thomas Nido’s single added another run, and the Mets held the lead until the ninth inning.
The Mets loaded the bases and scored again in the third inning with a double by Starling Marte, a walk by Francisco Lindor, and a single by Alonso.
However, Martinez’s bases loaded walk resulted in only one run.
Philadelphia’s Christopher Sanchez struck out Brett Batty, Bader and McNeil in quick succession and avoided further damage in a moment that didn’t really matter until a late-game meltdown ensured it.
Mendoza said, “At the end of the day, the bases were loaded and no one was out, so we couldn’t advance.”
