More of the same! Mets give up too many runs early, rally falls short in latest mess

Mets have lost 12 of their last 15 games and are now two games under .500

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets lost an ugly game to the Reds in Cincinnati on Tuesday, dropping the first game of their three-game series 7-6 (Box)

• David Peterson got the ball on Monday, and he was ineffective once again while allowing four runs in 3.1 IP

• Stephen Nogosek made matters worse, allowing three runs in only 1.2 IP

• Francisco Alvarez’s bat came alive - he hit two solo home runs, and Francisco Lindor had a much needed good day with a homer as part of a 2-for-5 night at the plate

• The Mets have lost 12 of their last 15 games - during that span, the club has a 6.12 ERA, allowing 5.7 runs per game while scoring just 3.5 runs per game

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Roster Moves 📰

• C Gary Sánchez signed to a minor league contract, assigned to Triple-A Syracuse

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Injury Updates 🏥

• Max Scherzer (neck spasms) was scratched from his start against the Reds on Tuesday

• Carlos Carrasco (bone chips in elbow) pitched three innings in a rehab start with Double-A Binghamton on Tuesday - he allowed one run over 3 IP

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (17-19) vs Reds (15-20)

Where: Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, OH

Starters: RHP Justin Verlander (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs RHP Hunter Greene (0-2, 3.74 ERA)

When: 6:40 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Meet the Mess… ✍🏼

Another lost day for the Mets on multiple fronts.

It started with the rumblings that Max Scherzer might be scratched for an injury unrelated to the injury to his scapula/shoulder. Then, of course, he was scratched, David Peterson got the start, and the game was more or less over early, as the Mets fell into a 7-1 hole by the fifth inning.

The Mets did make a valiant effort to rally back, but they missed some late opportunities and, to be fair, the odds of winning a game when the team falls into a hole like that are low to the point the offense has to more or less execute perfectly to come back, and this isn’t exactly an offense which can score runs in bunches to accomplish those feats very often.

Still, they made it a 7-6 games thanks to a promising power show from Francisco Álvarez, who hit two homers in that bandbox in Cincinnati, and Francisco Lindor showed some positive signs himself.

In the end, it was a night where Mark Canha was replaced by Luis Guillorme at the plate following a miserable at-bat in the seventh, a sign the Mets are starting to consider alternatives to their lackluster offense.

In truth, this team is pretty painful to watch. It’s painful to read about, it’s painful to write about. It’s not what anyone signed up for. They’ve underperformed in every facet of the game, they have gotten zero starting pitching to-date (well, close to zero anyway), their bullpen is not constructed in a matter that can withstand the loss of their closer (and that is not at all an indictment on the work Adam Ottavino or David Robertson has done), and there’s just zero spunk and an IT factor which is clearly lacking with this club.

They’re just not exciting and energetic, which is the polar opposite of what they were last year.

And that’s really surprising. For me, it has nothing to do with the payroll. Yeah, it’s high, but the Mets are now what everyone complained they weren’t for over a decade, which is a big market powerhouse and a spending machine. So we can’t suddenly complain about their willingness to spend money, even if it’s clear that money might’ve been misplaced (time will tell if that’s ultimately true, of course).

I did appreciate Mets manager Buck Showalter going out there and arguing to a point where he got ejected last night. It seemed to spark this club a little bit, as such events often do, but like I said, that spark was too little too late and it just led to another aggravating loss on the ledger.

Then there is the Max Scherzer situation which is turning into a colossal mess for this club. He was a late scratch from his start with what both he and the team described as neck spasms. Scherzer acknowledged later it could be a reaction resulting from his struggles with his scapula. But still, the Mets have to figure out how to find physical balance with a pitcher who has perhaps hit a wall both physically and with the new speed of the game. Who knows when he will pitch again, and who knows really what Max Scherzer is at this stage of his career.

Those are just fair questions until he answers them on the mound, one way or another.

Anyway, let’s just hope Justin Verlander can be that stabilizing factor for the Mets. It all starts on the mound and the Mets need to figure out how to get a quality, vintage Verlander-like performance out of him tonight, and going forward for that matter. He was generally fine in Detroit last week after a rough beginning, and looked both solid and fresh out there too.

It seems like that’s all we have right now with the Mets - hope.

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Around the League 🚩

• Shohei Ohtani allowed three runs over seven innings, but went 0-for-3 at the plate in a 3-1 loss to the Astros

• Aaron Judge had two RBI in his return from the IL, and Gleyber Torres drove in three runs in the Yankees 10-5 win over the A’s

• Charlie Morton and the Braves rolled over the Red Sox in a 9-3 win in Atlanta

• Jacob deGrom is still several weeks away from returning from his elbow ailment (Dallas Morning News)