Mets Drop Series to Lowly Padres
Hopefully it does not get any worse than this — the Mets dropped a series at home to the worst team in baseball after losing again to the Padres Thursday night.
With the weather questionable, Rafael Montero got the start instead of Jacob deGrom. It made sense; why waste deGrom if it starts raining early in the game? Besides, Montero is a Triple-A pitcher, and the Padres are a Triple-A team. But it didn’t work out that way. Montero needed 45 pitches to get out of the first inning, an inning in which the Padres scored two runs.
Lucas Duda got one of the runs back with a solo homer in the second.
Leading off the third inning, Hunter Renfroe lofted a fly to left. Michael Conforto never saw it through the fog and mist and it landed for a double. It would prove costly as Renfroe scored on a single to make it 3-1.
The Mets had a chance in the bottom of the inning but pinch hitter Matt Reynolds was gunned down at the plate trying to score on a Jose Reyes double.
The Padres tried to give the Mets some runs in the fifth, but they wouldn’t take it. Curtis Granderson led off with a walk. Travis d’Arnaud hit a fly ball to shallow right. The second baseman gave up on it, leaving Renfroe to try to catch it. He came up short. He still had a chance to force Granderson at second, but his throw was off the bag. But then Dinelson Lamet, making his major league debut, got the next three outs, two of them by strikeout.
The Mets also had runners on first and second with no outs in the sixth, but again came up empty.
Neil Walker led off the eighth with a double. Duda singled to plate Walker to cut the deficit to 3-2.
After Montero lasted just three innings, Paul Sewald pitched three innings of scoreless ball and Josh Edgin added two. It was a nice night for the beleaguered bullpen. Except for Addison Reed, who allowed a run in the ninth to make it 4-2.
In the bottom of the ninth, a Juan Lagares walk and Michael Conforto single put runners on first and third with one out. Reyes hit a fielder’s choice to score Lagares to make it 4-3. So with two outs, it was up to Jay Bruce. He popped out to foul territory to end the game.
Mets lose 4-3.