Uninspiring: Mets drop their fourth straight game as their bats remain unproductive

The Mets managed three singles and a triple in another lethargic loss to the Nationals

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets dropped their fourth straight game and second in a row to the Nationals, this time in a 4-1 loss at Citi Field (box)

• The Mets scattered just three singles around an Eduardo Escobar triple

• Kodai Senga started for the Mets and had to battle around command issues - still, he allowed just two runs in five innings

• The Mets committed three errors on Wednesday - they’ve committed six errors in their last four games

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Carlos Carrasco (elbow sprain) began a throwing program this week, but his return path hasn’t been set

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Nationals vs. Mets

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, New York

Starters: RHP Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. LHP Joey Lucchesi (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Just, wow… ✍🏻

Last night was one of those games that fit right into an August, 2013 version of the Mets.

It was a game where they got decent but good enough pitching to win a game, but couldn’t hit their way out of a paper bag.

Remember? We could sit and watch those games 10 years ago and literally predict how each at-bat was going to go (and not well at that).

Yesterday, I found myself doing the same thing. And it really wasn’t a cynical viewpoint of the Mets. Not at all. It’s just that they’re in such a funk, the offense is in this, “waiting for things to happen” routine, and like I said yesterday, we have seen this movie before with them since it’s literally the same group from last year.

Four hits. One extra base hit. That was literally that. That they scored a run seems miraculous, to be honest. And we haven’t even discussed the three errors the Mets committed on Wednesday, and now six in their last four games.

The Mets have a .273 on-base percentage .316 slugging percentage in their last five games. That isn’t even competitive.

Conveniently, Pete Alonso is just 2-for-21 during that span, Lindor 3-for-21.

It’s worth mentioning again - the offense just isn’t aligned properly when so much rides on one or two players to be productive.

That isn’t an indictment on them, either. Players go through ups and downs all year long. It was less than a week ago when we were talking about Alonso as an early MVP candidate when he was on his historic home run/RBI pace. He will hit again and hit again prolifically.

But who here is going to do that while he recalibrates at the plate? How can the Mets be so one dimensional as to be completely reliant upon one hitter to hit a home run per day on average?

But, that’s what this offense is. That’s what it was, and that’s what it’s going to be.

Sure, the Mets tried to make a massive improvement when they went after Carlos Correa. Even their owner knew they were missing that one, game-changing piece. And yes, they needed to center their spending around starting pitching (naturally, not much of it is here right now, right?) the past winter. Nobody is disputing that.

We’ve beaten that one to death.

But it’s not as if it’s hard to figure this out. They’ve gotten a .195 slugging percentage from their catchers, four extra-base hits and a .286 slugging percentage from their designated hitters, a .297 slugging percentage from their third basemen (this one the Mets could at least try and fix and start Brett Baty there full-time).

I could go on, but I’ll spare you anymore of that.

This is really on Alonso and Lindor’s surrounding cast. They’ve needed someone to step up for them for a while now.

Still waiting.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Braves won their third straight game to improve to 16-8 with a 6-4 win over the Marlins - Ronald Acuña Jr. homered and Vaughn Grissom drove in two runs in the win

• Zac Gallen extended his scoreless inning streak to 28 straight in the D-Backs 2-0 win over the Royals

• Fernando Tatís Jr. drove in three runs in a 5-3 win over the Cubs to get the Padres back to the .500 mark

• LHP Robbie Ray will miss the rest of the season with a flexor tendon injury that requires surgery (Seattle Times)