More of the same! Errors and a flat offense cost the Mets against Miami

The Mets have now lost three out of four games to the fish as another error helps define the club's mounting losses

NY Post

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets lost to the Marlins 4-2 at Citi Field on Tuesday (Box)

• Tylor Megill started off strong for the Mets before fading, thanks in part to a costly error from Mark Vientos at third base in the fifth inning which gave Miami the lead - Megill allowed two earned runs with eight strikeouts over 4.2 IP

• The Mets allowed another unearned run in the ninth inning when Francisco Álvarez threw a ball away on a stolen base attempt from Otto López - he would come around to score the fourth run of the game for the Marlins

• The Mets mustered only three singles and a double on the night - Vientos drove in the only runs for the Mets on a second inning two-run double

• The Mets are now 19-17 in one or two run games this season, they’re 5-23 when trailing after six innings, 3-10 in series openers at home, 9-10 against the NL East, 10-31 when allowing four or more runs, 1-3 against Miami in 2024, and 12-19 when committing at least one error in a game

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Roster Moves 🗞️

• C Francisco Álvarez reinstated from the 10-day IL

• C Tomás Nido designated for assignment

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Injury Updates 🏥

• Edwin Díaz (shoulder impingement) is expected to be activated from the injured list on Thursday

• Kodai Senga (shoulder capsule strain) threw a bullpen session on June 9 and is expected to throw one again today or tomorrow.

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• INF Colin Houck (no. 7 prospect, Low-A STL): 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

• OF Nick Morabito (no. 26 prospect, High-A BRK): 3-for-6, R

• C Drake Osborn (Double-A BNG): 2-for-4, Grand Slam

• INF Brett Baty (Triple-A SYR): 2-for-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI, 2 R

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (28-37) vs. Marlins (23-43)

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP David Peterson (1-0, 3.09 ERA) vs. LHP Braxton Garrett (2-1, 5.81 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where To Watch: SNY

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More of the same! ✍️

NY Post

To be fair, the Mets have played a lot better over the last week or so. I don’t want to take any of that away from them. Yes, some of those wins were very flawed and unquestionably too adventurous, but wins are wins and at least some of the scribes have suggested the Mets are close enough in the wild card standings to at least warrant 200-400 words about that on occasion.

But then there are games like the one they played on Tuesday which resembled that brand of baseball the Mets played throughout the month of May. It had all of that stale milk which they left behind at Citi Field before they went on the road last Sunday, between their inability to produce any offense, that one bad inning on the mound, and those one or two plays that all offered that combined familiar breath of stink in the air.

Tylor Megill started for the Mets and like so many times before, he dominated early before fading. He had that tantalizing stuff early with a big swing-and-miss fastball and cutter as he racked up strikeout after strikeout. He was awesome through four innings.

But then came the fifth inning.

Now, to be fair, Megill wasn’t terrible in the fifth. He pitched to more contact, gave up one big hit to Bryan De La Cruz, and then Mark Vientos made a throwing error to allow the go-ahead run to score. But there was definitely more contact with the result of his pitches as he unquestionably lost that gas he had early in that start.

The thing is, it’s more of the same from Megill who often dominates over the first three or four innings of a start before hitting a wall. I’d say he hit that wall with less velocity than he normally does, but none the less he has to figure out how to navigate the second and third time through these orders if he’s going to stick as a starting pitcher.

And look - he doesn’t have to stick as a starting pitcher, either. Again, that stuff was downright wicked for a short burst last night, as it is most of the time for Megill. To me anyway, he has always profiled as a short, swing-and-miss reliever, and we all know how much the Mets could use a big presence down there.

Maybe that’s the solution when or if Kodai Senga returns?

Anyway, onto the glaring problem, or problems of the day, which was once again the offense and defense.

This will serve as your near daily reminder the Mets are second to last in all of baseball with -28 defensive runs saved on the season. The White Sox are 30th and nearly twice as bad, which is remarkable too. They’ve committed 44 errors, the fourth most in the majors this season and the second most in the National League, behind only the team they played on Tuesday night.

That’s all you really need to know, aside from how bad the pitching has generally been this season. Those two go hand in hand when teams are good or when they’re not. And if you didn’t know anything about the Mets to-date, all you have to do is look at their 28-37 record on the season and one can probably conclude “I bet their pitching and defense is bad.”

It would be a good bet. And as long as betting has been thrown in everyone’s face during every single game whether you attend it or watch it on TV, you can bet on the Mets continuing to be bad in these areas.

The interesting part about the Mets offense, while it has stunk on the peripheries, they’ve scored the second most runs in the division. A lot of that is the result of an uptick over the last couple of weeks, which is fine I suppose. I don’t often believe seasons are defined on how good or bad an offense is as long as it’s major league competent. After all, there have been plenty of teams with middling offenses which have gotten into the playoffs.

While the offense is frustrating, it’s probably not the main reason this team hasn’t been any good. Its the stuff I just talked about which is defining their season to-date.

The Mets have allowed 42 unearned runs in 2024. Cut those unearned runs in half, and suddenly the Mets run differential goes from -35 to -14, and their record would be a lot better too and they would at least look more like a team that deserves a chance at the trade deadline, albeit still deservedly under .500. But that would be at least one of these countless areas of the club the front office wouldn’t have to worry so much about right now, instead allowing them to focus on getting an extra bat, and/or getting the relievers they need.

But the poor defense makes it almost impossible to plug the other holes and expect better results.

I just can’t get over how much David Stearns harped on improving the defense, improving the athleticism, baserunning,and agility of this team in the off-season and how it’s all arguably been worse than it was in 2023. I for one applauded his efforts in the player acquisitions to check those boxes when he got Tyrone Taylor, Harrison Bader, moved Brandon Nimmo to left field, etc. I don’t think this is on them specifically only because there’s been so much regression in right field and second base in particular (and the catching was just awful without Francisco Álvarez) and they haven’t been able to shore up the defense at third base, either.

It’s just more of the same. All I can really say to conclude this is that anyone who wants to dream about or write about where the Mets stand in this wild card race should table any of that until these things are fixed and the club is back to .500.

It otherwise ends up turning into a stale banana very quickly.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Yankees hit three homers as part of their 10-1 rout of the Royals in Kansas City

• Paul Skenes struck out eight and allowed five hits over 6.2 IP in the Pirates 2-1 over the Cardinals

• Brandon Lowe capped a four-run rally with a walk-off home run to sink the Cubs 5-2

• Max Fried allowed four runs in 5.2 IP and the Braves offense struggled once again as they were shutout by the Orioles 4-0