Mets erode after Nolan McLean exit as bullpen blitzed in loss
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK — The early April temperature was not the only element providing the sting to the Mets and their fans on Thursday night.
It was also the numbness set on by a missed opportunity following one of the best starts of the young season.
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Nolan McLean was masterful once again for six innings. He had all but silenced the Diamondbacks bats. A walk, single and his pitch count stood in his way of a positive result.
Once McLean exited, the Mets were gashed for seven runs between the seventh and eighth innings and dropped a 7-1 result, effectively petrifying the home crowd at Citi Field.
The Mets left very little margin for error and McLean's quality start sunk into a loss down the stretch.
The Mets dropped the final two games of the series, scoring a combined three runs in those defeats, and were denied a series victory as their record slipped to 7-6.
Close defensive plays evade Brett Baty, Mark Vientos as bullpen busted
Entering the evening, the Mets bullpen had proven to be one of the best units in baseball in the early going. They carried a 1.71 ERA — third in MLB — heading into the series finale.
Luke Weaver had a spotless ERA as he entered the game for McLean with a 1-0 lead with two runners on and one out in the seventh inning. He threw a changeup to the outside corner that Gabriel Moreno lined to the warning track in right field. Brett Baty scampered back to his left but the ball drifted by and ricocheted into the wall.
In the next at-bat, Alek Thomas shot a ground ball to Mark Vientos at first base but the Mets first baseman's throw to home plate wandered low and the Diamondbacks surged in front.
"That play in right field, that's a tough play," Carlos Mendoza said. "And the play with Vientos, when you execute the way they did, a hell of a jump from that runner at third base going on contact; any time a fielder has to go to his right, to his left, you're gonna have to make a really good play to get the guy at home plate."
The Dbacks added a sacrifice fly and a Jorge Barrosa RBI triple off Weaver to grow their advantage to 4-1.
"They're just a good team, good lineup," Weaver said. "They put the ball in play. I think at the end of the day, there's only one way to look at it, and it's if you do your job or you don't and today wasn't one of those outcomes."
They kept their bats heated up in the eighth inning, adding three more runs on three doubles and a walk against Luis Garcia. The Diamondbacks' run explosion cost McLean, who slid to 1-1 on the season despite a solid 2.70 ERA.
Nolan McLean's excellence evaporates
McLean finally had a feel for his sinker and curveball and that spelled a long innings for the Diamondbacks hitters.
In the opening six frames, McLean only allowed two hits and issued one walk. He worked around a one-out double by Jose Fernandez in the second inning by striking out James McCann on the curveball and picking up a ground ball to second.
He erased a leadoff walk in the fourth inning on a double play that he was able to start from the mound against Geraldo Perdomo and froze Adrian Castillo on a sinker. And despite Tim Tawa reaching on a leadoff bloop single in the sixth, he sent down the next three in order, ending the inning on back-to-back strikeouts.
"I haven't shown a great ability to throw strikes in the first two couple games, so I think part of their plan was to force me to get in the zone," McLean said. "Luckily, I was able to do that early."
But his pitch count swelled after issuing a walk to Perdomo and giving up a single to Fernandez in the seventh. He finished with eight strikeouts and three hits and two walks allowed across 6⅓ innings, but both of those runners came across to score.
Mets offense disappears
Eduardo Rodriguez has managed to keep some strong offenses down early in the season, and it continued on Thursday night.
In the 33-year-old veteran's first two starts, he kept both the Dodgers and Braves scoreless across 12 combined innings. Luis Robert Jr. broke that scoreless streak in the opening frame, belting a 412-foot home run on an inside cutter over the left-center field wall.
But from there, Rodriguez held the Mets to just one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts across his six innings of work.
"That changeup is his pitch, especially against righties, and then that two-seam that works off that pitch, he kept it down," Mendoza said. "Kept hitters off balance. He's not afraid to double up, triple up that changeup. He was able to do it then he started elevating when he needed to."
The Mets pushed a runner into scoring position three times against Rodriguez but could not cash in. The biggest chance came in the fifth inning when Tyrone Taylor laced a leadoff double and moved over on a groundout. Bo Bichette drew a walk, but Robert struck out looking on a low sinker that was upheld upon review and Vientos grounded out to third base.
On the whole, the Mets left seven runners on base. They were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. It was a miserable close to the series for the Mets offense which also left eight runners on base and were 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday.
"I think we had some decent at-bats today, given how good Rodriguez was keeping the ball down," Mendoza said. "We hit some balls hard. We created traffic. We just couldn't get the big one when we needed to."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mets erode after Nolan McLean exit as bullpen blitzed in loss