Mets Series Review 2007 Never Dies

 Coming off the high of beating the Dodgers, the Mets crashed and burned against the Nationals, barely winning one game as they dropped the series and are soon to drop out of first place, as the Marlins were swept by their BFF Atlanta Braves. Making it worse, Max Scherzer was injured and ineffective as the Mets lineup has gone ice cold, losing to Patrick Corbin, who looked like Sandy Koufax, as a free fall appears to be underway with more misery ahead in Pittsburgh as Darin Ruf is on the verge of going down as the worst deadline deal in MLB history. Another season of heartbreak as the Mets will never again have the chance they had this season but watched it get away as they will likely barely win ten more games and go out quickly in the Wild Card before an offseason of player departures and a long period of mediocrity.

The one game the Mets won should have been a sign that the weekend would be a disaster. The Mets won the game 7-3 but played poorly, making several base running and fielding blunders as they let a 3-1 lead vanish before regaining the lead. David Peterson got the start on Friday night as Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run home run to give the Mets the early lead. The Nationals got a run back in the third as Tomas Nido, trying to pickoff Victor Robles, threw the ball into left field. Nido made up for the error with a sac-fly in the fourth as the Mets led 3-1. The Nationals evened the score in the sixth as Peterson ran out of gas, allowing three runs on eight hits in five and a third with six strikeouts. 

The Mets quickly got the lead back as Pete Alonso hit a lead-off home run in the sixth.  The Mets would load the bases and scored on a sac-fly by Escobar as Mark Canha was thrown out at second. It was the second time that the Mets had a runner thrown out while someone scored on a sac-fly, showing signs of the horrendous play that was to come. Despite the poor base running, the Mets added two runs on a single by Tomas Nido and a triple by Brandon Nimmo to win the game 7-3.

The disaster began on Saturday when James McCant got the start and ruined another shot at 200 wins for Max Scherzer, who suffered side fatigue and could miss a start. The second batter of the game, Luis Garcia, hit a home run as McCann again telegraphed what pitch was coming. Scherzer was hittable but allowed only one run, as Eduardo Escobar hit a home run in the third. The game was tied 1-1, as Scherzer left the game after five innings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts. He will likely miss at least one start as the McCant factor has led to side fatigue. 

Advertisement

The biggest issue for the Mets was their feeble bats. They managed just three hits against the worst pitcher in baseball as Patrick Corbin transformed into Patrick Koufax. This is where the Mets miss J.D. Davis. Davis routinely got big hits against Corbin, who was 5-17 with an ERA over 7.00. Darin Ruf, meanwhile, was terrible, not giving the Mets a competitive at-bat at any time in the last month. The game remained tied until the eighth when Lane Thomas homered off Adam Ottavino. The game would get away from the Mets in the ninth as Adonis Medina imploded, allowing five runs as the Nationals won 7-1. 

Carlos Carrasco, who probably should have taken a rehab start, was on the mound Sunday and was a turd cookie as the Mets lost 7-1 again. The Nats took the lead two batters into the game with a single and a double as the nightmare had begun. The Mets briefly tied the game in the second, Jeff McNeil had a sac-fly, but the bats again fell silent as McNeil's error opened the door for the Nationals to score four runs in the third. Carrasco crumbled, allowing five runs on six hits in two and a third. 

Advertisement

The Mets never threatened to get back in the game as Cesar Hernandez hit his first home run of the season as the Mets rolled over and died, showing no heart and no urgency. 

The reeling feeble Mets head into Pittsburgh with the division lead down to one game as they are about to walk the plank it a likely three-game sweep by the Pirates, who rolled over and danced with the Braves.