Carlos Carrasco gave up six runs, five of which came on homers, as the Mets failed to finish the sweep, falling to the Marlins, 7-2, Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
The Mets fell into an immediate hole, as Carrasco served up a three-run homer in the top of the first inning. He later gave up a two-run blast before being pulled with two outs in the fifth. In two starts this year, Carrasco has 8.2 IP, 11 ER and 3 HR allowed. When Justin Verlander is able to return, we shouldn’t assume it will be Tylor Megill or David Peterson exiting the rotation.
Francisco Alvarez made his 2023 debut and he had an RBI single in the second inning. But he was also on the hook for seven stolen bases and had two strikeouts in the game. To be fair, it appeared that one of the SB he actually threw the runner out but it was too close for Buck Showalter to officially challenge. Alvarez has a strong arm but seems a little mechanical in his throws to second base, like a guy with two left feet counting his steps on the dance floor.
Despite how it looks from the final score, the Mets certainly had their chances in this game. But it’s hard to win when you go 2-12 with runners in scoring position and fail to hit any homers.
Mark Canha had a two-hit game, including a double, while Jeff McNeil pulled a double and also added two walks. Starling Marte had a double and stole third base in the first inning. But he crashed into the third baseman’s leg and left the game the following inning with a sore neck.
So far, except for Alonso and Senga, I’m not impressed.
Gut Reaction: it wasn’t a competitive game. It is only two starts for Carrasco and he has time to reverse his season before Verlander gets back into rotation. But right now, Megill and Peterson are pitching better. The Mets are 5-5 and they can’t afford to lose ground and worry about Carrasco rightting himself.
The Lindor flip to Guillorme DP was a thing of beauty.
The fact is the Mets simply dont have the killer instinct, or “sixth gear”, they can turn to when needed. Instead of a single with runners on 2nd and 3rd we get a ground out. But the next inning a lead off single will occur leaving the feeling of “where was this last inning?”
We’ve been talking about the Mets and landing RISP for what seems like ever. It’s not just bad enough to say what the batting percentage is (say 2 for 12 or .167), bit its worth thinking about the total number of bases and runs this adds up to. And its gonna shock us all.
It’s dubious to infer mindset based on physical results. A strikeout doesn’t mean that a hitter isn’t trying, of course.
And yet . . . watching the game yesterday I saw the Mets strike out three times with a runner on 3rd and only one out. All in the first four innings. Yes, it happens. But this was against a light thrower. What I saw in those instances was undisciplined ABs where the hitters didn’t seem to be bearing down at all, and appeared oblivious of the situation. And each time, I should add, the announcers prattled on about whatever, not once commenting on those failures.
It just didn’t look like a team that had their collective minds right. Not normally a trait of Buck’s Mets.
Maybe that’s not fair to say. Maybe just a bad day and some fruitless ABs.
The Padres are a far cry from the Marlins. It’s time to wake up.
This season is starting to feel like 2017. Plenty of talent on paper but injuries and disappointing performances led to an awful record.
The 2022 Mets won 101 games last year.
Against the Marlins, they had a .684 winning percentage. This year they have a .714 winning percentage versus them
In their last 21 games in Milwaukee, the Mets are 3-18.
It would be nice if the Mets were 10-0 at this point, but their record is about what we should have expected given recent trends. The Mets were not good against the Padres last year, so their record might get worse before it gets better.
Yes, it is very early, and yes, your points on opponents are accurate. And, another yes that the situational hitting isn’t good, which can probably be said for all of MLB vs. 30-40 years ago.
As a Met fan, outside of the 1986 regular season, we’re all pretty much constantly queasy, even coming off 101 seasons. My 2023 queasiness continues to be over the pitching, and especially the starting pitching. Ironically, newbie Senga may be the least worrisome. The rest of this squad, as well as most of the bullpen, hasn’t inspired any confidence to date, be it from performance, age, health, or any combination. I hope that changes, starting with some quality starts this week and some Padres payback as the weather warms up. No excuses gentlemen.