Bats Stay Quiet as Mets Drop Game, Series to Cardinals
The bats were cold, the defense was spotty, and Masyn Winn blooped a two-out, walk-off single just out of the reach of Carson Benge in short right field as the Mets suffered a 2-1 loss in 11 innings Wednesday in St. Louis and fell to 3-3 on the season.
The Mets went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. With the bases loaded and one out in the 11th, Brett Baty grounded out, and Marcus Semien flew out. In the 10th, Juan Soto popped out on the infield with two on and two out. Jorge Polanco doubled to lead off the ninth, but Luis Robert Jr. struck out, Baty grounded out, and Semien struck out.
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The bullpen was excellent. Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams each pitched a scoreless, hitless inning. Tobias Myers worked a scoreless 10th and induced a double play in the 11th before giving up the unlucky game-winning hit.
For the second straight day, the Mets wasted a good starting pitching performance. Freddy Peralta tossed 5 1/3 innings, struck out seven, and bailed out his defense twice.
In the first inning with a runner on first and one out, Francisco Lindor fielded a grounder, stepped on second, and didn’t throw to first because he thought the inning was over. Peralta struck out Winn to end the inning.
In the fifth with runners at the corners, Francisco Alvarez blocked a pitch in the dirt. He checked the runner at third but didn’t notice that Nathan Church took off from first. With runners now at second and third, the double play wasn’t in order, and the Mets brought the infield in. Peralta made that a moot point, striking out Pedro Pagés and getting Victor Scott II to ground out to end the inning.
Peralta allowed a walk and a single to start the sixth and was pulled after striking out Alec Burleson. Huascar Brazobán got Winn to pop out to short, but Nolan Gorman tied the game with an RBI single.
Juan Soto‘s first home run of the season broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. It was the first Met home run since Robert’s walk-off blast in the second game of the season.
Matthew Liberatore, who pitched to a 4.21 ERA last season, retired his first 14 before Mark Vientos doubled in the fifth.
The Mets faced a lefty starter for the first time this season. Vientos (first base) and Tyrone Taylor (right field) got starts. Baty and Benge were on the bench.
Stats of the Game
The 0-for-11 with RISP makes the Mets 6-for-53 in their last five games. Since scoring 11 runs on Opening Day, the Mets have scored 12 runs total in the five games since.
Player of the Game
Peralta allowed one run on three hits and walked two. He threw 54 of 92 pitches for strikes.
On Deck
The Mets head to San Francisco for a four-game series. David Peterson, (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his first start, faces fellow lefty Robbie Ray (0-1, 3.38 ERA) in the opener on Thursday at 9:45 p.m. ET. The game will air on SNY and MLB Network.
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