Jeff McNeil Get His Revenge, Mets’ Offense Continues to Struggle in Loss to Athletics

Clay Holmes took the mound for the New York Mets (7-7) as they took on the Athletics (6-7) in the first game of a three-game set at home. Notably, the game was Jeff McNeil‘s first as a visitor at Citi Field.

After two innings of shutout baseball, the A’s broke through off of Holmes in the top of the third inning. Although the Mets’ righty generated a ground ball with a double play in order that could have ended the inning, a slow turn by Francisco Lindor led to an RBI single by Shea Langeliers in the subsequent at-bat. Another groundout to first ended the inning, but not before the A’s took a 1-0 lead.

Former Mets second-round pick J.T. Ginn was nearly spotless in his four innings of work for the A’s, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out four. The Mets’ scoreless streak reached 12 innings when Ginn was pulled from the game after just 68 pitches.

In the top of the sixth inning, Holmes was removed from the game due to left hamstring tightness with one out and a runner on first base. He finished with 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1

R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Tobias Myers entered in relief of Holmes, setting the next two A’s down in order to keep the score 1-0.

The Mets threatened to break their streak of 13 consecutive scoreless innings in the bottom of the sixth. After back-to-back singles by Lindor and Bo Bichette, Jared Young hit a sharp ground ball to first base that led to Lindor being tagged out at third. However, after Luis Robert Jr. grounded into an inning ending double-play, the streak lived on.

Myers’ strong start to the season continued in the seventh and eighth innings, setting the first eight A’s he faced down in order. Depending on what happens with the Holmes injury, Myers could be in line for extended innings in the coming weeks along with Sean Manaea.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Carson Benge shot a one-out single down the left field line. After a Lindor fielder’s choice advanced Benge to second, Bichette struck out on a curve ball by Scott Barlow.

In the top of the ninth, Myers returned for a fourth inning of work, but things did not go as well as the first three. After the A’s got the leadoff man to second after a single and a Benge error, McNeil slashed a single to extend the A’s lead. Another hit led to the A’s having runners at second and third with nobody out. After retiring the following batter via groundout, Denzel Clarke cashed in both base runners with a two-RBI single, as the A’s lead ballooned to 4-0. Richard Lovelady relived Myers, and got the Mets out of the inning with a double-play.

The Mets failed to score in the bottom of the ninth as their scoreless streak reached 17 innings. The final score was 4-0 Athletics.

Player of the Game: Clay Holmes

Despite exiting early from his start, Holmes was excellent once again in the Mets’ loss. With his 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball, his season ERA now sits at 1.50. Not bad for a second-year starter.

On Deck

The Mets will resume action on Saturday at 4:10 PM EST in the middle contest of the three-game set with the A’s. Kodai Senga will take the mound for his third start of the season, looking to continue his trend of solid pitching against Jacob Lopez. The game will stream live on SNY and MLB.com, radio on WCBS 880 and the Audacy app.

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