john harper
·4 min read
The Mets mini two-game winning streak ended with a thud on Saturday as they lost 10-5 at Citi Field to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even the final score was a bit misleading as the Mets trailed 10-1 before scoring four runs in the ninth inning.
The top takeaways from the loss:
1) So much for the Mets’ hot bats and feel-good vibe that followed their players-only meeting on Wednesday night.
The four runs in the ninth made the stats look a little better, especially for Pete Alonso, who hit his 13th home run of the season off Brandon Hughes, a two-out, two-run shot that made the score 10-5 and prompted Arizona manager Torey Lovullo to bring in closer Paul Sewald.
For most of the day, however, the Mets did little damage. Starter Slade Cecconi, called up from the minors on Friday due to injuries for a second stint with the D-backs, came in to the day with a 6.12 ERA in the big leagues this season but held the Mets to one run in 4.2 innings.
For the day the Mets went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, the only hit being a ground ball to third that Jose Iglesias beat out for a single in the ninth.
2) Sean Manaea had dominant stuff that translated to 10 strikeouts and 16 swings-and-misses over 5.2 innings, but that’s small consolation on a day when he was also charged with six earned runs.
Suffice to say it could have been different for the Mets’ lefty if not for letting the third inning get away from him. Two walks, after a leadoff single by Jake McCarthy, loaded the bases for the D-backs with two outs, and then Manaea hung a first-pitch sweeper that Christian Walker drilled to left field for a grand slam and a 4-0 lead.
Manaea gave up two more hits in the sixth that led to two runs, the second one after he had been relieved by Josh Walker.
The loss left Manaea with a record of 3-2 and a 3.63 ERA.
3) Mark Vientos continues to be a bright spot, hitting the ball consistently hard. On Saturday he delivered the only run for the Mets with a bomb of a home run, a 440- foot shot to left in the fifth inning.
The exit velocity on the home run was 110.4 mph, the second-hardest hit ball of the game. And he also hit a one-hop rocket to shortstop that turned into an out, at 106.6 mph off the bat, the fifth-hardest hit ball in the game.
Vientos even reached base on a dribbler down the third base line in the ninth inning, making him 2-for-4 on the day. For the record, the exit velo on that one was 23.9 mph.
In 57 plate appearances Vientos is now hitting .340 with four home runs and a whopping .642 slugging percentage.
4) Francisco Lindor extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a first-inning single off the wall in right field, hit so hard that he was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double.
It was his only hit for the day as Lindor went 1-for-3 before being taken out in the eighth inning of a lopsided game.
During his streak Lindor is hitting .383.
5) Citi Field continues to be less than a Friendly Confines this season. With the loss they are 12-20 at home this season, mostly because they don’t hit much.
Going into Saturday’s games, the Mets ranked last in the majors at home with a .211 team batting average. In stark contrast, their .264 batting average in road games is the second-highest in the majors.
GAME MVP: Christian Walker
The Arizona first baseman changed the complexion of the game with his grand slam off Sean Manaea in the third inning, giving the Diamondbacks a 4-0 lead that eventually turned into a rout.
Walker has hit 33 and 36 home runs the last two seasons, respectively, and is now on a similar pace after home runs the last two days give him 12 for the year. His .831 OPS is second-highest on the D-backs, behind only Joc Pederson.
Highlights
What's next
The Mets and Diamondbacks wrap up their four-game series at Citi Field with Sunday's 1:40 p.m. start on PIX11.
LHPJose Quintana(1-5, 5.06 ERA) will take on RHPBrandon Pfaadt(2-4, 4.16 ERA).
