Frustrating loss for Mets thanks to Megill, RISP failures

New York loses a one-run game for the 6th time in seven games. Plus, should we believe in Tylor Megill and Brett Baty or not?

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets lost a wire-to-wire game to the Cubs on Friday night, 6-5 (box)

• RHP Tylor Megill dug a hole that the team couldn’t claw out of, allowing four runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings

• 3B Brett Baty was the lone bright spot on the night, going 2-for-5 with two home runs (3, 4) and five RBI in the loss

• RF Juan Soto went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts to slow down his recent hot stretch

• RHP Max Kranick allowed a pair of crucial runs to score late, as has now allowed runs in each of his last four appearances

• New York’s offense went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and are now hitting .224 with RISP this season (4th worst in MLB)

• The Mets are now 1-6 over their last seven games decided by one run

• Down in Double-A, RHPs Jonah Tong and TJ Shook combined to pitch a seven-inning perfect game – the first perfect game in Binghamton history

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Who’s Hot? 🔥

• 3B Brett Baty is 4-for-12 (.333) with three home runs and six RBI in three games since returning to the major league club

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Who’s Cold 🥶

• RHP Max Kranick has allowed runs in each of his last four appearances, pitching to a 7.50 ERA over that timespan

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Play of the Game 🌟

Despite the Mets digging themselves into a 4-0 hole to start the game, New York clawed their way into a one-run game as the night went on. In the top of the 8th, Max Kranick found himself in a jam needing one more out to escape a bases loaded threat in a 4-3 game.

Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya wouldn’t let that happen, however, as he grounded the first pitch he saw into left field for a base hit to drive home a pair of insurance runs.

Those extra runs wound up being massive in this game, as Brett Baty answered with a two-run homer in the next half-inning and the Mets ultimately lost the game by a single run.

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Jonah Tong (No. 6 prospect, Double-A): 6.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 K (win)

• RF Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, run scored

• RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 15 prospect, Triple-A): 3.1 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 5 K

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG (Gm 1 | Gm 2) | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (25-15) vs. Cubs (23-17)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: RHP Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.50 ERA) vs. LHP Matthew Boyd (3-2, 2.75 ERA)

When: 12:05 PM EDT

Where to Watch: Roku

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Fool me, fool me not… ✍️

Saturday night was yet another frustrating loss for the Mets. It was the club’s sixth loss in their last seven games decided by one run, and yet another one in which they had ample opportunities to tie or take the lead and were unable to take advantage.

Last night’s loss also highlighted a pair of Mets players who have provided plenty of false hope over the past few years, but with each of them experiencing dramatically different results in this one.

We’ll start off with the one who didn’t have a good night: Tylor Megill.

After getting off to a promising start this season with a 1.74 ERA and 2.37 FIP over his first six starts, the tall right hander has struggled mightily over his last two starts where he’s allowed eight earned runs on 11 hits and five walks over just 9.2 innings pitched.

If you’re thinking to yourself right about now “boy, that sounds familiar,” that’s because it would accurately describe Megill’s entire major league career to this point.

Historically, Megill has always gotten off to good starts in seasons… it’s the other five months that usually present issues. In his career, Megill has a 2.45 ERA in the months of March and April. After last night’s struggles, Megill now has a 5.97 ERA in the month of May for his career. The months that follow that aren’t much better, either…

Tylor Megill’s career month-by-month stats entering Saturday night’s game

At this point in his career, Tylor Megill is who Tylor Megill is. And I genuinely don’t even think the Mets vaunted pitching lab – one that has rejuvenated the careers of pitchers like Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and even Griffin Canning – can change. While I appreciated his contributions over the first several weeks of the season as they did help get this team to the spot they’re in right now, I never once believed that something had changed and this was going to be sustainable for The Big Drip.

Unfortunately for us non-believers, there will still be some time before Manaea or Frankie Montas return, meaning that there will very likely be more May Megill in our immediate futures.

On the other end of the spectrum is another player I have been outwardly skeptical of over the last couple seasons in Brett Baty. And unlike Megill, it was a hell of a 24 hours for the young infielder.

After connecting on a solo homer in Friday night’s win, Baty had the most impressive performance of his young career in last night’s loss to Chicago. The 25-year-old drove in all five of New York’s runs in the loss on a pair of home runs, nearly single-handedly driving his team to victory in the process.

Much like Megill, it’s been a career largely filled with unanswered promise for Baty. There have always been flashes from the third baseman, but they’ve mostly come during Spring Training or at the Triple-A level. Coming into last night’s game, Baty had been just a .215/.278/.332 hitter for his major league career spanning three-plus partial seasons.

And while many have pointed toward his elite bat speed this season (shoutout Kevin Danishefsky), that had yet to ever impact any of his production or other offensive metrics at the big league level.

Baseball Savant

It’s been a very limited sample size for Baty, but since being recalled by the club he is 4-for-12 with three home runs and six RBI over three games. The odds are that will get him some increased playing time, especially with the struggles of Mark Vientos continuing and the fact that the team is without the bat of Jesse Winker right now.

But is it really time to start believing in Baty… again?

Well, it’s the boring answer, but I try to avoid hot takes on here unless I truly believe them with my full chest – I don’t know.

At this point in time I remain somewhat skeptical, but I am open to having my mind changed. What I really think we’re going to need to see out of Baty is for him to do this over the course of several weeks and beyond, rather than just declaring him “fixed” because he hit a couple homers vs. the Cubs one weekend.

There was a time where I truly believed that Baty was going to be the next successful long-term, homegrown position player for this team. The idea that he could still realize that promise is tantalizing, for sure, but I’m just going to need to see more.

With Baty I’ve been fooled too many times at this point to start believing – at least for now – so I remain in a wait and see approach. For Megill, though, I think it’s time we fully move on from grandiose delusions.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Padres offense exploded for a 21-run outburst in their lopsided victory over the Rockies at Coors Field

• The Reds scored 10 runs in the first inning and held on for an exciting 13-9 win over the Astros in Houston

• Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom struck out 10 batters as the team clubbed five home runs to beat the Tigers, 10-3

• Yankees RF Aaron Judge hit his league-leading 13th and 14th home runs, but were defeated by the A’s thanks to a five RBI day from C Shea Langeliers