The New York Mets (53-52) hoped turning the calendar from July to August would change their fortunes. It didn’t on Day One as the Arizona Diamondbacks crushed the Mets 14-1.
The Mets finished the homestand with a 2-4 record. They are now 33-19 at Citi Field and 1-5 against the Diamondbacks this season.
The Mets remain 6 1/2 behind the Atlanta Braves, who lost 2-1 to the Cincinnati Reds. The Philadelphia Phillies closed to within 2 1/2 games, and four games ahead of the Mets, beating the Washington Nationals 6-4.
The Mets open back-to-back series against the Braves and Phillies this week. Johan Santana (8-5) will face Tim Hudson (11-5) at Turner Field Monday night.
Arizona Diamondbacks @ New York Mets … recap and boxscore
Post Game Notes:
Jonathon Niese surrendered two three-run home runs to Adam LaRoche, allowing six runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings pitched. Niese drops to 7-5 on the season.
Oliver Perez pitched the final two innings, giving up four runs and five hits.
The Mets had just five hits on the day, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Post Game Quotes:
Jerry Manuel (on Mets play): “It definitely hurts your pride a little bit when you perform in that manner. We didn’t pitch, we didn’t hit, we didn’t play defense.”
David Wright (on the Mets): “When you give up a lot of runs early, six, seven runs like that, it’s tough to come back from. We didn’t perform in any area of the game.”
Alex Cora (on upcoming roadtrip): “If we play how we played on the West Coast trip, we’re going to be out of this really quick.”
Jeff Francoeur (on upcoming roadtrip): “We have to find a way to gain games, and this is the perfect time to do it against these two teams. You can’t get eight or nine games back against Atlanta, not with their pitching staff.”
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