Mets lose a heartbreaker to the Cubs on a night full of highs and lows
Luis Severino flirted with a magical no-hitter, but another defensive mistake and a lack of offense ultimately doomed the Mets on a rollercoaster of a night...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost a heartbreaker to the Cubs by a score of 3-1 to the Cubs opening game of their four-game series (box)
RHP Luis Severino threw an absolute gem, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning. The right-hander allowed just one run on one hit with two walks while striking out five
The big turning point in the game came in the eighth inning as INF Joey Wendle opted to throw to second rather than cut off the runner at home, allowing INF Michael Busch to score the game-tying run
RHP Edwin Díaz entered the game in the ninth and struckout three, but ultimately gave up the go-ahead two-run shot to 3B Christopher Morel
OF Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff homer in the first inning - the first home run the Mets had hit in the first inning this season
The Mets managed just four hits all game and went 0-for-2 with RISP, leaving runners on base in the bottom of the ninth
New York has now lost six of its last eight games, scoring a combined total of just 10 runs in that span
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expects OF Starling Marte (bereavement list) back on Tuesday
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Kodai Senga threw 21 pitches against minor league hitters in a live BP session on Monday. Late May / early June remains the target for a return
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (14-14) vs. Cubs (18-11)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 3.33 ERA) vs. RHP Javier Assad (2-0, 2.00 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Mets experience euphoric highs and soul-crushing lows all in one night… ✍️
Talk about a night full of exhilarating highs and crushing lows.
We’ve talked before about the need to be prepared for 2024 to be a rollercoaster ride full of twists and turns. Well, Mets fans got the whole up and down experience on Monday night in the series opener against the Cubs.
Things couldn’t have started any better at Citi Field as Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run in the first inning - the first time all year that the Mets have gone yard in the first.
Those in attendance - and those watching from the comfort of home - were then mesmerized as RHP Luis Severino and RHP Jameson Taillon engaged in a compelling pitchers duel for the ages which, thanks to the pitch clock, had all the signs of finishing in well under two hours. The clubs had entered the eighth inning at around 8:30 PM. Astonishing.
Taillon was really good but Severino was that much better, throwing seven innings of no-hit ball while convincing Mets nation that he was on the cusp of something truly special.
Ironically enough, it was two years ago to the day on Monday that the Mets threw their last no-hitter - the combined no-no against the Phillies.
You just got the feeling that Severino was about to write his own special chapter in Mets history given how dominant he was on the mound. The veteran simply looked unhittable, retiring his first 11 batters faced.
Given how locked in Severino was, it felt like a routine Monday night game in late April was about to take on even more historical significance.
However, a broken-bat single from Dansby Swanson in the top of the eighth well and truly popped the balloon. And, just like that, all the magic and the anticipation of something truly breathtaking happening oozed out of Citi Field.
Instead, we were on the precipice of witnessing one of those typical Mets losses. A game that had so much euphoria but one could sense that tragic ending which so commonly befalls the Mets.
Severino’s near-perfect night ended after he gave up his only run of the night.
And, to add insult to injury, it was a run that should have been avoided.
Joey Wendle, who ironically entered the game as a defensive replacement at third, opted not to take the easy play by throwing to home on a tag play, instead taking a low-probability chance at a 5-4-3 double play which allowed the tying run to score since all the Mets could get was a fielders choice at second.
This may sound harsh but, the more times I have watched it, it really is a boneheaded play by Wendle, who was brought in for his defensive ability. It is those kind of brain farts and cheap mistakes that can really hurt a team in the long run. Physical mistakes are fine - it’s the mental mistakes that eat at my craw.
Still, Severino handed the ball off to Edwin Díaz and the expectation was that the star closer would be able to do what he does best and then leave it to the team’s big hitters to seal another dramatic win.
But, as Woody Allen once said, if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans. Díaz gave up a double to Michael Tauchman before allowing the go-ahead two-run homer to Christopher Morel. It was just the second homer Díaz had given up all year.
With all the hope and the excitement now completely gone from Citi Field, there were some brief flickers of life in the bottom of the ninth as Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil both walked. Héctor Neris, who has been somewhat of a Mets killer throughout his career, was struggling to come up with the knockout blow before ultimately digging deep to strike out both DJ Stewart and Brett Baty to end the game.
It was the most excruciating and frustrating of Mets losses, especially given the history that was inches away from being achieved with Severino’s heroics on the mound.
By the way, isn’t it funny that the Mets waited 27 games for a starter to throw a pitch in the eighth inning, only for it to then happen twice in as many days? What is it they say? You wait an age for a starter to go deep, only for two to come along at once…
Anyway, as elite as Severino was, and he really was otherworldly on Monday, you can’t expect to win baseball games if your offense doesn’t come up with the big hit in the big moment. As has been the case throughout this recent slump, the lineup couldn’t get anything going and neither Stewart nor Baty were able to get the job done with runners on base.
Sure, Wendle’s poor decision really stung. Diaz’s mistake over the middle of the plate with a fastball obviously put the nail in the coffin.
Over-relying on your pitching and, in turn, not giving them any run support just isn’t going to be sustainable over a full 162-game season.
Severino and José Quintana have combined to allow just two runs on four hits over 16 innings of work in the last two games combined. Yet, on the flip side, the offense has managed a grand total of just three runs in the same span.
That isn’t a tried and tested recipe for success.
The offense has struggled for a while now, including going a combined 4-for-34 with RISP in the series loss to the Cardinals over the weekend. I’m sorry, but the lineup need to figure things out, and quick, otherwise the wheels will well and truly fall off the entire season.
Overall, Monday was just an absolute gut punch of a loss for the Mets, who could not have thrown that game away any more easily if they tried. At the end of the day, a defensive miscue, a rare mistake from your superstar closer and an alarming lack of offense - again - ruined an absolute masterpiece from Severino, who deserved a lot more for his considerable efforts.
It is just one game, sure, but it was one that put all Mets fans through the emotional wringer with no happy ending available. And, given the way things are set up, I have a feeling it won’t be the last such night we all endure this year.
For now, though, Monday night’s collapse against the Cubs will go down as the latest in a long line of typical soul-crushing losses for the New York Mets.
Around the League 🚩
Gunnar Henderson hit his 10th home run of the year as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Yankees, 2-0, to take the first game of what is a big series already in the AL East
Max Kepler hit a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth as the Twins extended their winning streak to eight games by beating the White Sox, 3-2
Shohei Ohtani continued to rake, going 2-for-4 with with one run scored and one RBI as the Dodgers secured an 8-4 win against the Diamondbacks
RHP Bryce Miller struckout 10 and allowed just one hit and Mitch Garver hit a 412-foot two-run home run as the Mariners walked it off against the Braves with a 2-1 win
Justin Turner hit a pair of home runs as the Blue Jays beat the Royals, 6-5, in Toronto
I was really hoping that when Chavez returned as a hitting coach that the offense would come alive like it did under his previous tour. Now these bums can't buy a hit. What is going on ???
Maybe I’m missing sonething but, If you start Taylor against a RH starter, why PH for him against another righty in the 9th?