Mets Offense Stalls Again in 4-0 Loss to Phillies

New York had no luck with Aaron Nola. The Mets offense mustered just four hits Tuesday in a 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies (30-13) at Citi Field.

The Mets didn’t get a hit off Nola (5-2) until Tyrone Taylor singled leading off the sixth inning. They didn’t get a runner to second base until pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil doubled in the ninth inning. New York (19-22) has lost four out of five.

José Buttó (1-3) gave up two runs in the third inning when he hit Alec Bohm with the bases loaded and then walked Brandon Marsh to force in another run. It was a bad case of deja vu for the Mets as Bohm was hit by an Edwin Díaz pitch with the bases loaded last night to tie the game in the ninth when the Phillies were down to their final strike. The Phillies won 5-4 in 10 innings.

Yohan Ramírez pitched a scoreless sixth. Jake Diekman walked three, but helped himself by picking Kyle Schwarber off at second before he was removed with two on and two out in the seventh. “The only strike he threw was to second base,” SNY broadcaster Gary Cohen said. Diekman (who technically threw five strikes out of 18 pitches) fired his glove in frustration in the dugout after he was pulled. Jorge López got Bohm to ground out to end the inning.

Sean Reid-Foley, who took the loss on Monday, gave up two runs on four hits in the ninth.

The Mets entered the game with six consecutive wins against Nola. With the four-hit shutout, he is now 10-8 in 27 career starts against New York.

Before the game, manager Carlos Mendoza talked to reporters about why he didn’t start McNeil. The 32-year-old entered Tuesday hitting .190 (8-for-42) in May with no extra-base hits.

“Probably pressing a little bit, trying to do too much,” Mendoza said. “Especially when he’s chasing as much. So yeah I think he’s a hitter going through it right now. And he just feels like he’s just trying to put the ball in play. I know the bat-to-ball skills is really good from him as we’ve seen throughout the years.

“But it’s one of those where like he’s going out there just trying to put the ball in play, like weak contact early in counts and then chasing a lot. So yeah, it’s one of those where you just gotta continue to work with him.”

Stat of the Game

With Diekman’s pickoff, the Mets have picked off five runners this season while catching only four runners stealing. Bonus stat:

Entering Tuesday, the Mets’ ERA when Francisco Alvarez is at catcher was 2.15 over 113 innings, per the SNY broadcast. It is 4.06 with Tomas Nido over 124 innings and 4.79 with Omar Narváez, who had also caught 124 innings.

Player of the Game

Buttó gave up just one hit in five innings. But he walked four, hit a batter and gave up two earned runs. Buttó has gone at least 5 innings and given up three runs or fewer in five of his seven starts.

On Deck

Adrian Houser, who was scheduled to return to the rotation after getting skipped last time around, will not start Wednesday because he warmed up in the bullpen during the game. The starter is TBD. Lefty Ranger Suárez (7-0, 1.50 ERA) goes for the Phillies as the scene shifts to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The 6:40 p.m. ET game will be broadcast on SNY and MLB Network.

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