In two games at Fenway Park this week, the Mets’ lineup seemed beyond formidable. Before and after, it has been a different story.
On Thursday night, most of the Mets’ hitters could have changed places with the cardboard cutouts in the stands and few would have recognized the difference.
However, for the second night in a row, the game was there for the inning in the last innings and the Mets failed to deliver. This time they left the bases loaded in the eighth after losing 4-2 to the Red Sox at Citi Field.
After pushing reliever Matthew Barnes to his 37th inning pitch, Andrés Giménez hit a goalkeeper to first base for the final outing in the eighth, wasting the Mets’ return opportunity. Yoenis Céspedes had walked on the eighth pitch of his at-bat from Barnes to load the bases in one inning. Pete Alonso was drilled by a pitch and JD Davis singled.
For the second night in a row, Michael Conforto failed to deliver in an important spot. Conforto struck out against Barnes with two runners on base after the right-hander lagged 3-1 on the count. Conforto struck out Brandon Workman with the bases loaded in the ninth inning on Wednesday, contributing to the Mets’ 6-5 loss.
Just adding to Thursday’s misery, Edwin Diaz allowed a run in the ninth on two walks, an individual and a hitter, starting with the bases loaded and one off. It was the last failure for Diaz, who ruined salvation in Saturday’s loss to the Braves by allowing Marcell Ozuna a home run with two outs in the ninth. Paul Sewald helped contain the mess on Thursday by going in to get the last two outs without another run score.
Veteran left-hander Martin Perez, who shot a 5.12 ERA last year and had an equally lethargic start this year, thwarted the Mets by limiting them to two runs and two hits and four walks in 5² / entradas innings. Jeff McNeil’s two singles (one of which didn’t go out of the box) were the Mets’ only hits against Perez.
The Mets (3-4) lost their second straight game and will play six straight games on the road starting Friday in Atlanta. They divided four games against the Red Sox, winning both games played in Boston.
In a mediocre performance, Steven Matz lasted 5 ¹ / ₃ innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts, coming off after 104 pitches.
Matz went through his first four innings, threw 80 pitches, and fell 3-2 in Christian Vazquez’s second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left field that stayed on Davis’s head. The blast was Vazquez’s third in two days: He went deep against Seth Lugo the night before to tie the game in the seventh inning.
Vazquez’s second home run on Thursday came with a 0-2 sinker. Xander Bogaerts had hit an infield single at the start of the inning.
Matz threw a 2-1 trade down the middle in the second inning that Vazquez scored for a solo home run. Matz also allowed a knock on the box and walk into the entrance before escaping.
McNeil’s two-run single in the third inning gave the Mets their score against Perez. In the inning, Wilson Ramos and Alonso walked and Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch. McNeil delivered an opposing field single to the left that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.
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