The Houston Astros handed the Mets their only series loss in June. New York is now back under .500.
The entire month of June was truly a fun month for this New York Mets team. Part of their success last month was due to the positive vibes coming from McDonald’s character Grimace and UTL Jose Iglesias singing the “OMG.” Despite losing the series to Houston, New York has won six of its last ten games, which is a respectable feat. But there are problems the team will need to address heading into the next series. One of the problems is the bullpen. It is one of the reasons why New York has lost two of three games to Houston.
Jeff McNeil finally ends his home run drought
It’s been a rough year for 2B Jeff McNeil. But he started to get going in June. In Friday night’s 7-2 win, McNeil hit his first home run of the month, ending his losing streak. But he wasn’t alone in that inning. 1B Pete Alonso joined him in that inning to extend the lead. It was also the first time since May 2 that New York reached a game above .500 and won four games in a row.
The Mets were in trouble before they got into the game. To start, 2B Jose Altuve hit a home run to give the Astros an early 1-0 lead. Moments later, the Astros had all the bases loaded. The Mets were able to limit the damage after getting UTL Mauricio Dubon to fly out. The Mets answered in the bottom half of the inning. After back-to-back walks to SS Francisco Lindor and OF Brandon Nimmo, New York tied the game. Red-hot C Francisco Alvarez scored on a sacrifice fly to bring Lindor home.
The next run came in the third inning. OF Yordan Alvarez opened the inning with a line drive double to put the team in scoring position. Moments later, he scored on an RBI single by SS Jeremy Pena to make it 2-1. New York didn’t answer until the bottom of the fourth inning. OF Tyrone Taylor hit a deep hit in the opposite direction to tie the score at 2-2. New York’s big run inning, as mentioned, didn’t come until the sixth inning. But that big inning didn’t end the scoring streak for the team. Francisco Lindor scored the team’s last run of the night with an RBI double in the eighth inning to bring home Jeff McNeil.
Then there was the pitching. Jose Quintana got off to a good start, but not long enough to get the win. He recorded seven strikeouts, but struggled with three walks allowed. His control was not good, which explains why he left the game early. The bullpen did well in between, with RP Dedniel Nunez picking up the win.
Five-run inning not enough to win
Similar to Friday’s game, the Astros hit a home run early in the second inning off OF Jake Myers, who was quietly on top of his game. The Mets answered in the bottom half of the inning. After a walk to leadoff hitter Tyrone Taylor, followed by a single from 3B Mark Vientos, the team tied the game, Jose Iglesias hit a single off SP Framber Valdez to bring Tyrone Taylor home.
But the Mets were done, but still did damage. They scored four more times in the inning. CF Harrison Bader put the Mets ahead with an RBI single, putting them up 2-1. Brandon Nimmo joined the hit parade moments later with an RBI double to extend New York’s lead. Pete Alonso later capped the Mets’ five-run inning with a two-run double.
The Mets scored one more run in the third inning. Mark Vientos hit a solo home run to center field to make it 6-1. But Houston wasn’t done yet. They answered with three runs in the next inning. Jeremy Pena hit a two-run double while 1B Jon Singleton hit an RBI single to cut New York’s lead to two runs. SP Tylor Megill’s day was over after five and a half innings of pitching.
The Mets bullpen ended up making things worse. It all started in the top of the eighth inning. They let the Astros come back and take the lead. It all started with a wild pitch from RP Reed Garrett that brought Jake Myers home. The lead was now just one point. Moments later, 3B Alex Bergman scored the winning run with a two-run single to make it 7-6. Houston scored more runs in the next inning.
Catching up at the end of the inning is not enough
After falling behind twice on Sunday, the Mets mounted a comeback, but it wasn’t enough. After a long rain delay in extra innings, the Mets gave up five runs to the Astros, who ended up winning the series. SP Luis Severino pitched seven innings, but RP Matt Festa allowed five runs in the 11th inning in his season debut.
The game also marks the first time Houston has finished above .500. For the Mets, this loss would mean they would fall back below .500.
