Game 35 of 162
Rockies 13 – Mets 6 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets record: 17-18
Mets streak: Lost 2
WP – Brent Suter (1-0)
LP – Jimmy Yacabonis (2-1)
Seat on the Korner
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.
Kris Bryant was 3-for-5 with a home run (his 5th) and 3 RBI. He also made a heads up throw from right field to catch Daniel Vogelbach off second base to short circuit a strong start by the Mets in the 1st inning.
Need To Know
*The Mets lost another series, dropping the rubber game to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. They’ve lost four of their past five series (splitting the other in San Francisco) and 11 of their past 14 games.
*New York is under .500 for the second time this season and first since it dropped to 3-4 after being swept in Milwaukee.
*The Mets allowed a season-high 13 runs.
*The Mets scored three runs in the 1st inning, their most productive first frame this season. Including Sunday, the Mets have scored nine first-inning runs in 35 games.
*Jeff McNeil was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
*Brett Baty batted fifth for the first time in the majors and was 1-for-5 with a two-run single in the 1st inning.
*Vogelbach hit a solo home run in the 7th inning, his second of the season.
*Big Sexy returned to Citi Field! Bartolo Colon, the popular ex-Mets pitcher, threw out the First Pitch. Too bad he didn’t get the start instead for New York.
Turning Point
The moment the bullpen door opened in the top of the 5th inning and Jimmy Yacabonis entered the game. Walk, Bryant two-run home run, walk, Ryan McMahon double, out, two-run double by Ezequiel Tovar. A 4-3 lead became a 7-4 deficit. Tommy Hunter then replaced Yacabonis and poured gasoline on the fire and it was 10-4 before the inning ended. Yacabonis surrendered 5 runs and 3 hits and walked 2 in one-third of an inning. His ERA elevated to 9.00 this season.
3 Keys
As has been the case all season, the Mets received another short outing from their starter. Granted, Joey Lucchesi was pitching on three day’s rest (after a four-inning stint Wednesday) but he lasted only four innings again Sunday. Lucchesi couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead and allowed three runs, four hits, a home run and three walks on 70 pitches. Just another day when the Mets bullpen was forced to work at least four innings.
For the second time this week, the Mets scored at least 6 runs … and lost. The Mets offense has been so poor this season that they can’t afford to lose when they actually do score a bunch of runs. New York pitching has allowed five runs or more 16 times this season. They are 3-13 in those games.
The Mets were 5-for-9 with RISP but left 10 men on base and failed to capitalize more in two innings they’d already scored. In the 1st inning, with three runs already in and two outs, Luis Guillorme singled to right. Brett Baty raced home from second base but before he could cross the plate, Vogelbach was tagged out at second when Kris Bryant threw behind him from right field. Simply a terrible, inexplicable mistake by Vogelbach. Then in the 4th inning the Mets failed to exploit a bases-loaded situation. With one run in and one out, Pete Alonso was caught looking at a borderline strike three and Baty grounded back to the mound on a 3-2 pitch after swinging and missing at ball four the previous pitch.