Cheaper by the Dozen: Giants Turn Tables on Mets With Their Own 12-Spot

Giants 12, Mets 4 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets Record: 63-49

Mets Streak: L1

Mets Last 10: 5-5

WP: Carson Whisenhunt (1-0)

LP: Frankie Montas (3-2)

Seat On The Korner: Jung Hoo Lee

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

One Giant sad to see the season series between the Mets and Giants ending is their centerfielder, Jung Hoo Lee. Lee had four hits, a walk, two runs scored and the key stolen base in the third (although he should have been out), improving his numbers against the Metropolitans to 7-for-12 for these three games and 11-for-22 in the season series overall. Lee is only hitting .258 overall, but he's a pesky Mets killer.

Need To Know:

• The loss dropped the Mets' home record to 38-18.

• The loss temporarily dropped the Mets into a virtual tie with the Phillies, who were scheduled to play the Tigers in the ESPN Sunday night game.

• Even with the loss, the Mets still took the season series, 4-2. In the last four seasons, they are 14-12 against the Giants.

• The game was a battle of the two pitching staffs that have allowed the fewest home runs in the majors -- and each got nicked. Francisco Lindor's dinger in the first was the 97th allowed by the Giants; Rafael Devers' blast in the third was the 98th and Casey Schmitt's in the ninth was the 99th given up by Mets hurlers.

• Before the game, the Mets designated reliever Rico Garcia for assignment and recalled Austin Warren from Syracuse. Warren entered the game in the fifth, relieving the ineffective Frankie Montas, and pitched four impressive scoreless innings. The question is whether the impressive performance merely bought him a bus ticket back to Syracuse because of the number of innings he pitched.

• With the game out of hand, Luis Torrens became the third position player to pitch for the Mets this year. He gave up a double to Jung Hoo Lee before retiring Patrick Bailey to end the ninth.

• Dominick Smith extended his hitting streak against the Mets to eight games, dating back to 2023 when he was with the Nationals. Smith entered the game 12-37 with four extra base hits and seven RBI in his previous 13 games.

• Cedric Mullins stole a base in the ninth, which was (understandably) chalked up to defensive indifference. So the Mets' streak of consecutive stolen bases remains at 30, still the longest active streak in the majors and the longest for the Mets since they recorded 36 straight steals from May 14-June 29, 2023.

• The homestand continues Monday night with Cleveland coming to town. Sean Manaea gets the ball against Slade Cecconi in a 7:10 start.

Turning Point:

Somewhat obscured by Francisco Lindor's recent hitting woes-- despite going 3-for4 Saturday and hitting a home run in his first at bat Sunday, he does not appear to be completely back in a hitting groove -- has been Lindor's uncharacteristic shakiness in the field. His range has seemed down, his throwing a little off. And in the top of the third, Lindor missed what seemed like a perfect throw by catcher Francisco Alvarez to nail Jung Hoo Lee. instead of catching the throw and tagging Lee, Lindor let the ball go through his glove and into center field (Lindor was charged with an error). Lee ended up on third and scored on Patrick Bailey's single to tie the game. An out and a walk later, Mets starter Frankie Montas grooved one to Rafael Devers, who hit it 403 feet to right, giving the Giants a three-run lead from which they never looked back.

Three Things:

Whis Kid

With the the exception of Francisco Lindor's first inning home run and Francisco Alvarez' double in the fifth, the Mets couldn't do much against Giants lefthander Carson Whisenhunt, who made his second major league start and notched his first major league win. Whisenhunt, the Giants' top pitching prospect, features a wicked changeup as the best pitch in his repertoire. Whisenhunt went five and a third, giving up three hits and one earned run. His success makes you wonder if its's time for Brandon Sprout or Nolan Mclean, or even Paul Blackburn (that's how bad things are) in the rotation because....

Montas Is a Mess

For the second consecutive start, Frankie Montas pitched, as they say, briefly and ineffectively. In his last start, Montas lasted only four and a third innings, leaving after fiving up five earned runs and eight hits. Today? Even worse. His pitch count was high, and the balls were flying off Giants' bats. Montas left after 92 pitches without retiring anyone in the fifth. Seven hits, seven runs, two walks and only one strikeout. Would the game have been any different had Francisco Lindor held on to Francisco Alvarez' throw in third on Jung Hoo Lee's attempted steal? Extrapolate further, and Rafael Devers doesn't get up with two on. But that's a lot if ifs. And Montas' ERA has now ballooned to 6.68. Not someone you want to hand the ball to every five days if you want to stay in the pennant race.

On a Brighter Note:

Mark Vientos, with a ninth-inning double, extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games. Francisco Alvarez had two hard hits -- a double in the fifth on which Jeff McNeil scored thanks to throwing error and a two-RBI single in the ninth that was essentially meaningless but nevertheless showed some plate maturity. Previously, Alvarez might have been swinging from the heels for a home run in that situation.