Four Score in Seventh Inning and Doom Mets As Diamondbacks take Series Finale 7-1

Diamondbacks 7 Mets 1 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 7-6

Mets streak: Lost 2

WP - Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0)

LP - Nolan McLean (1-1)

Seat on the Korner: Eduardo Rodriguez

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Eduardo Rodríguez came into the start off to a strong opening stretch, having allowed just one unearned run on eight hits and three walks over his first 12 innings of the season. He continued that strong form today, working six solid innings while scattering five hits—three singles, a solo home run to Luis Robert Jr., and a double to Tyrone Taylor. He issued two walks and struck out three, and for the most part cruised through the outing, with the lone real moment of pressure coming in the fifth inning. Rodríguez worked his way out of that jam and kept the Mets in check the rest of the way, once again giving his club exactly what it needed. Ralph reaches into the virtual gift vault and comes up with the Casio Palmtronic 8M Calculator so he can keep track of his ERA the rest of the season.

Need to Know

• Tonight's game featured a rematch of the World Baseball Classic final, as Nolan McLean squared off against the Diamondbacks Eduardo Rodríguez.

• Eduardo Rodríguez came into the start off to a strong start, having allowed just one unearned run on eight hits and three walks over 12 innings.

• Nolan McLean and Paul Skenes are the only two pitchers in Major League history that have struck out 69 batters and allowed fewer than 14 earned runs through their first 10 career starts. McLean has gone 6-1 with a 2.16 ERA (14 ER/58.1 IP) with 20 walks and 69 strikeouts in his first 10 starts...Skenes went 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA (14 ER/59.1 IP) with 12 walks and 78 strikeouts during his first 10 starts.

• Nolan McLean has made six career starts at Citi Field, and he has a 0.51 ERA (2 ER/35.2 IP) in those starts…

• Nolan McLean He has struck out at least six batters in all of his starts at Citi FIeld, striking out eight tonight.

• The Mets are in the midst of their second homestand of the season...The team is 3-3 in New York this year...The team has posted a 4.19 ERA (27 ER/58.0 IP) at Citi Field in 2026.

• Geraldo Perdomo’s 47 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout since March 27 @ Dodgers (third inning) is the longest active streak in the

  Majors, ahead of Chandler Simpson/TB (34).

• Both teams are dealing with key injuries: Corbin Carroll (hip flexor) was out after tweaking it on a triple Wednesday, while the Mets continue to manage Jorge Polanco’s Achilles tendinitis, which could lead to an IL stint.

Turning Point

The turning point of the tonights game came in the bottom of the 5th. The Mets had their best chance to extend a 1–0 lead, but couldn’t cash in with runners on first and third and just one out. Tyrone Taylor opened the threat with a double, followed by a Francisco Lindor groundout that moved Taylor to third. Bo Bichette then drew a walk, but Luis Robert Jr. struck out after an ABS challenge confirmed the call, and Mark Vientos grounded out to end the inning without a run scoring. That missed opportunity loomed large, as it kept Arizona within striking distance long enough to break through against Nolan McLean for two runs in the seventh and then blow the game open against the Mets’ bullpen in the seventh and eighth innings.

Three Keys

Nothing Went RIGHT in the Seventh

The seventh inning was where everything that could go wrong for the Mets absolutely did. What started as a manageable situation quickly unraveled into a nightmare sequence, with Arizona turning small cracks on the Right side of the field into a full-blown collapse of execution. Back-to-back plays in the proved pivotal—first, Brett Baty misread a ball that sailed over his head in right field, a play Carson Benge likely has if he’s stationed there for the inning, allowing momentum to tilt sharply. On the very next play, Mark Vientos compounded the damage by making a poor throw home from first base, allowing the go-ahead run to score. From there, the inning spiraled completely out of control, as the Diamondbacks kept the line moving and the Mets could never stop the bleeding.

Leaky PEN

The Mets’ bullpen, which has been a steady and reliable force for much of the season, simply didn’t have it tonight. After Nolan McLean exited in the seventh, the game quickly unraveled. Luke Weaver was charged with a blown save, allowing two runs in just two-thirds of an inning, unable to stop the initial surge. It only got worse from there, as Luis García had a particularly rough outing, surrendering three runs on three hits while recording just one out, turning a close game into a lopsided one in a matter of minutes. Only Richard Lovelady was able to restore some order late, but by then the damage had already been done, marking a rare off night for a bullpen that has otherwise been one of the Mets’ strengths.

Center Piece

Luis Robert Jr.’s first-inning home run, his second of the season, didn’t just give the Mets an early spark—it also put into perspective just how little production they got from center field a year ago. In 2025, the Mets cycled through seven different center fielders, and only Jeff McNeil, Tyrone Taylor, and Cedric Mullins managed as many as two home runs apiece. Robert Jr. has already matched that total in just 39 at-bats, offering an early glimpse of the kind of impact power the Mets have been missing at the position.