This season, Carlos Mendoza’s management has mostly been impressive, but Friday night was a different story for the Mets. Clay Holmes, after 79 pitches, was taken out after five innings, having allowed only five base runners. Unfortunately, a four-run lead against the Rays disappeared, marking the end of a winning streak.
Paul Blackburn and Max Cranick struggled in the six innings they pitched, giving up six runs in a 7-5 defeat at Citifield, which broke a six-game winning streak for the Mets.
Despite the pitching hiccup, the Mets had chances to bounce back, yet they left 12 runners on base. The Rays, despite their own defensive blunders—including three errors—managed to come out on top. Notably, all five runs by the Mets were unearned.
Blackburn, filling in for the injured Kodai Senga, got his sixth chance to pitch last night. He had saved four innings for Colorado just last Sunday, but this time managed only one inning while allowing four hits and tying the game.
Kranick, recently recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, gave up a two-run home run to Danny Jansen, which became the turning point in the Mets’ loss. Holmes, despite scoring one run on three hits and two walks, lowered his ERA to 2.87, keeping him among the Mets’ top starting pitchers.
Tyrone Taylor made a fantastic defensive play that helped Holmes get through three scoreless innings. In the fourth inning, Yandy Diaz hit a ball that forced Taylor to leap over the warning track to make the catch.
Jonathan Aranda scored the game’s first run in the fourth, and Holmes continued to struggle, allowing multiple home runs during his last few starts. Following a walk, he tried to steal Junior Kaminero, which led to further complications.
Sterling Marte’s single in the fourth evened the score to 1-1, and Taylor then helped the Mets take the lead with an RBI fielder’s choice shortly after. Errors from pitcher Tigi Bradley allowed the Mets to score again in that inning.
In the fifth, Marte had a standout two-run single, giving the Mets a solid lead, but Blackburn allowed the Rays to get back into the game when Jake Mangham hit a two-run single.
Kranick allowed two inherited runners to score on groundouts, following a two-run home run from Jansen, leaving the Mets trailing 7-5.
The Mets made an effort to respond in the seventh but fell short. After a pinch-hit from Brett Batty and a walk from Ronnie Mauricio loaded the bases, they couldn’t capitalize.
Soto hit a strong shot to right field in the eighth that looked promising but turned out to be just a long fly. Ultimately, Mauricio was striking out on three pitches in the ninth with the tying run on base, capping an unfortunate evening for the Mets.
