Mets Bullpen Falters; Win Streak Snapped at Seven
The Mets took a seven-game win streak into Wednesday night’s series finale against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, looking for their eighth straight win and second series sweep in a row.
The Mets were unable to get it done, dropping the series finale to the Rangers 5-3, snapping their win streak at seven.
Jun 17, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Drew Smith (33) delivers a pitch to the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Sean Manaea (4-3, 4.00 ERA) was on the mound for his 15th start of the season. Manaea re-took the mound after having one of his best outings of the year on June 14th against the Padres in which he struck out seven over five innings pitched. He was opposed by Andrew Heaney (2-8, 4.02 ERA) for the home Rangers.
Manaea struggled in the first inning, walking three batters and hitting Wyatt Langford to drive in a run. With an early 1-0 lead, and room to do more damage, Manaea settled down and retired Lowe to end the inning.
From there, it was cruise control for Manaea. He held the Rangers scoreless through the next 4 1/3 innings pitched, and was handed a 3-1 lead along the way.
However, Manaea finally cracked again in the sixth inning, allowing his two first hits to Robbie Grossman and Josh Smith to cut the lead to 3-2. Smith also came around to score after Manaea was pulled, tying the game at 3-3.
The Mets also struggled offensively on Wednesday, scoring just three runs on five hits. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, and Francisco Alvarez each had a hit.
Starling Marte drove in the Mets’ first RBI of the day on an RBI double in the fourth that drove in Brandon Nimmo to tie the game.
Pete Alonso hit his 16th home run of the season in the sixth inning off of Heaney, it was a two-run home run that went 427 feet and gave the Mets their initial lead before Texas tied it in the bottom half of the inning. That brought Alonso’s RBI total to 42 on the season.
Manaea pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on two hits and struck out six in a strong outing, but one in which he didn’t have support from the offense.
Drew Smith struggled on the mound on Wednesday giving up two earned runs on a home run by Leody Taveras that gave the Rangers the 5-3 lead they never looked back on as they went on to defeat the Mets 5-3, with Smith taking the loss.
STAT OF THE GAME
J.D. Martinez extended his 23-game on-base streak on Wednesday with a walk. Despite extending the streak, he went 0-for-2 on the night and is now hitless in his last six at-bats.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
The Metsmerized player of the game for Wednesday night goes to Pete Alonso for his two-run home run in the top of the sixth.
ON DECK
The Mets have an off-day on Thursday as they travel to Chicago for a three-game set against the Cubs beginning Friday at 2:20 PM ET. It will be Jose Quintana (2-5, 4.98 ERA) on the mound for the Mets against the Japanese phenom, Shota Imanaga (7-1, 1.89 ERA) for the Cubs.
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