The road remains "Rockie" in Flushing as Mets drop a tough one to Colorado

Rockies 4 Mets 3 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 9-17

Mets streak: Lost 1

WP - Michael Lorenzen (2-2)

LP - Freddy Peralta (1-3)

SV - Antonio Senzatela (2)

Seat on the Korner: Michael Lorenzen

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.

No Rockies starter had gone seven innings this season, until tonight (of course.) Michael Lorenzen threw seven innings of one run ball, giving up seven hits and striking out three in a 4-3 Rockies victory.

Need to Know

• Freddy Peralta went 5 and 2/3's against the Rockies, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight.

• The Rockies snapped their 8-game losing streak against the Mets.

• Michael Lorenzen's start tonight was his fifth career start against the Mets ... all for different teams.

• Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio each had two hits on the night with Baty driving in two runs.

• Antonio Senzatela's save was his second of the season, and the second of his career. It was a five out save and he only needed 10 pitches to finish off the Mets.

• The Mets have lost five straight series openers.

Turning Point

The Rockies came into tonight hitting .433 on first pitches. For the first five innings, Freddy Peralta spotted his fastball well against the Rockies, discouraging them from being too aggressive. But in the 6th inning with runners on first and second, Peralta missed location and Jake McCarthy took advantage by hitting a first pitch RBI double to give Colorado the lead.

Three Keys

When First Pitch Fastballs Go Right

The numbers might not scream at you, but this was one of Freddy Peralta's better outings this season. Peralta threw lots of first pitch fastballs, as mentioned above. But he located well for the most part, throwing them above the zone or on the edges, neutralizing the Rockies' strength while setting up his changeups and off speed stuff to wipe out their hitters.

He ran into some bad luck tonight as the BABIP gods decided they were going to have some fun with him. One hit was a squib double down the line. One hit went off the second base bag. One hit was a swinging bunt to third base. It made his numbers look worse than his stuff actually was. It was only when he got tired late in his outing that he gave up the first pitch hit to McCarthy.

When First Pitch Fastballs Go Wrong

Contrary to what Peralta did most of the night, when you throw a first pitch meatball against the Rockies, it's going to get hit. Sean Manaea, who came in for relief in the 6th and got a huge strikeout to end the inning, started the 7th by giving up a single and hitting a batter. After a sac fly, Manaea threw the aforementioned meatball which put the game out of reach.

It was the only blip on the radar for Manaea, who struck out seven in his 3 and 1/3 innings tonight. But it was a mighty large blip in a one run loss.

Those BABIP Gods? Still Laughing ...

Lorenzen wasn't overpowering, but he got big outs when he needed them. He got the Mets to ground into three double plays in his seven innings of work and finished off his 7-inning outing with a flourish.

But it was the 8th inning that will have Mets fans pulling out what's left of their hair. Down 4-1, Mauricio and Bo Bichette singled to bring up Juan Soto. Soto then hit a liner right to first base for the first out, and was lucky that it wasn't a double play. Then after a looping single by Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty got the Mets back in it.

Up came Mark Vientos with runners on first and second, and in came Senzatela. Vientos got two middle-middle changeups in a row. He missed the first one, but he hit the second one 107.7 mph. If it goes almost anywhere else in the ballpark, it's a tie game.

Instead ...

When you're going bad, nobody has any sympathy for you ... least of all the Gods of BABIP.