Mets suffer another heartbreaking defeat after David Robertson blows lead against Giants – The Denver Post
Putting a slim lead in the hands of the Mets bullpen is a risky game these days. It was no different Friday night when David Robertson gave up a three-run homer to a rookie catcher from the San Francisco Giants, dooming the Mets to a 5-4 loss in the first game of a three-game series at Citi Field. It was the 13th blown loss of the month.
The Mets (36-46) are now a season-worst 10 games below .500. When Pete Alonso smashed his bat over his knee after making an out to end the fifth inning, it said all you need to know about the Mets right now. Since the start of the month, the Mets have lost 15 games in the standings, going from 3.5 games back in the NL East to 18.5.
“We’re trying,” said reliever David Robertson. “It just feels like nothing is going our way.”
Up 4-2, the team went to Robertson, their most trusted high-leverage reliever to start the eighth inning. After getting the first out, Joc Pederson reached on error when Alonso couldn’t make a flip to Robertson at first base. He then walked J.D. Davis to put two on.
Then came Bailey, a 24-year-old playing in just his 33rd big league game. Robertson (2-2), a 38-year-old veteran who has pitched more like a 24-year-old this season, threw him a cutter for a strike, a curveball outside and then another one right over the plate. Bailey did what a hitter at any level would do with a mistake pitch and drove it out of the park to put the Giants (46-36) back on top.
“San Francisco has been playing well for a while and they’re taking advantage of things like that and making it hurt,” said manager Buck Showalter. “That’s what we did well last year and at times, this year, but not nearly enough. We’re always thinking there is something to get that started. But we’ve got to play better than we have.”
Tommy Pham went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored, Jeff McNeil went 2-for-4 with two RBI doubles and Francisco Lindor also went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Carlos Carrasco lasted only five innings. He changed the grip on his slider in the bullpen right before the game started and the pitch was effective.
“I was trying to get a better grip and the other was kind of OK,” Carrasco said. “I can see the movement on the pitch compared to the other one.”
Carrasco held the Giants to only two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six, but three of those hits and one of those walks came in a busy second inning that drove up his pitch count. Only one run crossed and Carrasco got out of a bases-loaded jam to prevent further damage by getting former Mets utility man Wilmer Flores to ground into a force out.
“He had a competitive outing for us tonight,” Showalter said.
Flores, however, homered in the fifth inning to tie the game at 2-2. His homer run came just after Brandon Nimmo made a fantastic jumping grab at the wall to rob Lamonte Wade Jr. of extra bases.
But the Mets helped out Carrasco in the bottom of the inning. McNeil, who doubled home Francisco Lindor in the first inning, scored Brandon Nimmo on a double to left field off right-hander Alex Cobb. A San Francisco fan along the rail grabbed for it, deflecting it into the stands. The umpires ruled it fan interference Giants manager Gabe Kapler challenged the call but it was upheld and the go-ahead run was deemed safe.
With the Mets up 3-2 in the sixth and Cobb out of the game, Pham homered off Taylor Rogers to give the Mets a 4-2 lead, but it wasn’t enough.
Cobb had a similar line to Carrasco, allowing three earned on six hits, walking two and striking out three. Camilo Doval converted his 24th save of the season to tie Emmanuel Clase and Jordan Romano for the league lead. The Mets went 7-19 in the month of June. One month won’t define an entire season, but it’s possible the Mets miss playoffs because of the hole they dug themselves this past month.
“We don’t get the big outs when we need them, we don’t get the big hits when we need them, we don’t the quality pitches when we need them,” Robertson said. “But this clubhouse hasn’t given up, that’s for sure.”
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