A lively crowd at Citifield, including former player Daryl Strawberry, gathered behind home plate, hoping to see something remarkable unfold.
The fans likely expected to feel the excitement as the Mets’ offense got into gear.
During his fourth plate appearance, Pete Alonso couldn’t find the rhythm that once brought him 252 home runs. Lately, it seems when he isn’t hitting homers, the Mets’ offense lacks much punch overall.
By the end of the game on Tuesday, the Mets hadn’t scored since the second inning, finishing with a disappointing 3-2 loss in front of 39,895 fans in Queens.
The Mets (63-51) dropped yet another series, having lost seven out of their last eight games. Alonso, who had one sacrifice fly, will have another shot at history in the upcoming game.
These are the kinds of games the Mets really need to win in the second half of 2025.
The starting pitcher, Clay Holmes, gave them some decent innings, but their usually strong bullpen let a cheap run slip by from Tyler Rogers. Cleveland managed just six hits and three runs against them.
But the expensive offense, known for its power, was silent after just four hits following the second inning—definitely not matching the expected standards.
In fact, their only run seemed to come out of sheer frustration.
In the first inning, Francisco Lindor walked, advanced to second and third on wild pitches, and was driven home by Alonso’s sacrifice fly.
But then things turned bleak. With Juan Soto at second, Brandon Nimmo faltered at the plate.
They managed to score again when Tyrone Taylor’s single brought in Mark Vientos. However, the inning ended when Lindor hit into a double play.
And that pretty much summed up the Mets’ offensive effort for the night.
It seemed the winning run could have come from sheer luck.
Rogers, usually good at forcing weak contact, found himself in a bind as some weak hits found gaps.
In the seventh inning, with two outs, CJ Kayfus hit a chopper through the left side for a single. Brayan Rocchio followed with another single, this one rocketing to the opposite field.
Then Stephen Kwan stepped up with two runners on and delivered a key hit that bounced off the wall, slipping between Lindor and Jeff McNeil to score the go-ahead run.
Holmes had initially been solid, running through three perfect innings without letting anyone reach base. But that perfect streak ended with a few hits and a walk, and after a quiet fifth, he was limited to 75 pitches, handing it over to Gregory Soto to face the Cleveland lineup.
Ultimately, Holmes allowed two runs in five innings, which isn’t terrible, but it seemed like he couldn’t go deeper again. The Mets have struggled to find a starter who can reliably pitch six innings since Holmes did so back on June 7—almost two months ago.
