Mets Bullpen Blows Another Game

What can you say about the Mets revamped bullpen? Oh, I know — it stinks! The bullpen blew another lead and another game Friday night against the Diamondbacks.

Dillon Gee got behind early — Cody Ransom hit a two-run home run in the second. But Gee settled down after that, allowing just the two runs in his six innings of work.

The Mets got to work in the third — Ruben Tejada led off with a single and moved to third on a Daniel Murphy double  (left). After David Wright walked to load the bases, Scott Hairston doubled to left to tie the score. An Ike Davis groundout scored Wright, and then Andres Torres singled to plate Hairston for the 4-2 lead.

Torres, by the way, went three-for-four and has had an RBI in each of his four games back.

And then it was the bullpen with another putrid effort. Bobby Parnell pitched an effective seventh, but when Justin Upton reached on a Davis error to lead off the eighth, Terry Collins called on Tim Byrdak. He promptly walked Jason Kubel. After a strikeout for the first out,  Jon Rauch came in. Rauch, fresh off his first poor outing of the season, now has a second. He allowed a game-tying double to Paul Goldschmidt, and then a tie-breaking single to Ransom to give the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead.

The Mets threatened in the eighth. With runners on first and third and two outs, Josh Thole hit a hard liner to left but Kubel was able to snag it. The inning was ruined earlier — with a runner on first and no outs and one strike on Scott Hairston, Collins called for a sacrifice bunt. Hairston awkwardly missed, and now in a two-strike hole, popped out in foul territory. There was no reason to sacrifice there and give away one of the six of the outs you have left, especially with a guy like Hairston who never bunts.

The game ended on a sensational Gerardo Parra diving catch to rob Murphy of an extra-base hit, denying Wright a chance to tie or win the game.

Mets go down 5-4, now losers of four straight.