Bullpen Dooms Mets in Loss to Rays

The mood was festive at Citi Field on Friday night before a pitch was even thrown, thanks to Pride Night at the park and a six-game Mets winning streak. But in a rare instance, the club’s bullpen was not able to keep the good vibes going, blowing a four-run lead in a 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Manager Carlos Mendoza made what at the time was a controversial decision to pull Mets starter Clay Holmes after just 79 pitches and five innings of one-run ball, despite the Mets holding a 5-1 lead. That’s when the wheels fell off – Paul Blackburn and Max Kranick combined to give up six runs in the sixth, capped by a two-run homer allowed by the latter to Danny Jansen that put the Rays up for good.

“We knew today, before that outing, that we were going to keep him at 85 (pitches) max,” Mendoza said about his decision to pull Holmes.

The bullpen meltdown came after the Mets built a four-run lead aided by walks and errors on the Rays’ part. Starling Marte was the main offensive contributor, driving in three runs.

Even after the blown lead, the Mets’ offense had its chances. Juan Soto came a few feet away from a game-tying two run homer in the eighth, but his screaming line drive to right was caught at the wall. In the ninth, the Mets put runners on first and second with one out before Brett Baty grounded into a fielder’s choice and Ronny Mauricio struck out to end the game. The Mets were just 2-16 with runners in scoring position, continuing a concerning trend.

While the loss stung, the Mets delivered some relatively good news after the game regarding Kodai Senga’s hamstring injury, which was diagnosed as a Grade 1 hamstring strain following an MRI earlier in the day.

“We’re looking at probably two weeks, 14 days before we re-evaluate,” Mendoza said.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Marte continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3-4 with a walk and three RBIs.

UP NEXT

Tylor Megill (5–4, 3.76 ERA) will take the hill for New York against tough Rays starter Drew Rasmussen (5–4, 2.22 ERA) on Saturday afternoon. Megill is coming off a road win against the Colorado Rockies in which he gave up four hits and two runs over five innings. Game time is 4:10 PM EST. 

The post Bullpen Dooms Mets in Loss to Rays appeared first on Metsmerized Online.