KANSAS CITY — The Mets fell into a similar pattern over the weekend against the Kansas City Royals, failing to produce offense in the early or middle innings, falling behind before coming back late.
The comeback kids scored twice on closer Carlos Estevez in the ninth inning Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, tying the game going into the bottom half of the frame. But this time, the Royals had the last say, walking off for a 3-2 win in the series finale.
In the bottom of the ninth, left-hander Sean Manaea, making his season debut, gave up a one-out single to Tyler Tolbert, who then swiped second base. Nick Loftin drove a 1-2 slider from Manaea to left field and the throw home didn’t come with enough time to get Tolbert at the plate.
Manaea took the loss (0-1), allowing one run on five hits and striking out seven in 3 1/3 innings.
An oblique strain and a loose body in his elbow had him sidelined since spring training, but now that he got this outing under his belt, the Mets can go into the second half with the starting rotation they envisioned during the offseason.
Right-hander Clay Holmes allowed two earned runs over five innings starting the game, but he had no run support to work with. Left-hander Noah Cameron was fantastic for Kansas City, scattering seven hits and walked two over 6 2/3 shutout innings, striking out eight. The Mets couldn’t pick up his slider and were fooled on his changeup.
Mark Vientos hit a one-out triple in the first inning and the Mets had runners on the corners with two outs after he intentionally walked Pete Alonso, but Cameron got Brandon Nimmo to pop out to end the inning.
That was the only offense for the Amazins’ until the ninth when they scored twice.
Holmes will finish the first half 8-4 with a 3.31 ERA as a starter. The Yankees closer who converted to a starting pitcher with the Mets this season, Holmes has been healthy enough to make 19 starts so far this year and at times, has been the best starter on the staff. But when he was signed in the offseason, Holmes and the Mets were both honest about saying that if he struggled as a starter, they could change course and use him out of the bullpen.
He’s pitched 103 1/3 innings this season, a career-high mark that far surpasses his workload in any previous season. The Mets have protected him as well, keeping his starts to around 80-90 pitches most of the time. That has created its own set of problems.
If Holmes isn’t pitch-efficient, the workload gets placed on the bullpen. He’s thrown seven innings only once this season, and with the myriad of injuries to the pitching staff in June, the Mets have had to depend on the bullpen more than usual. It could be tougher to protect Holmes and the bullpen during a second-half playoff push.
Still, while many in baseball are starting to question whether or not the Mets can keep Holmes in the rotation, it’s unlikely they move him to a relief role. Griffin Canning is out for the season, they don’t know what they can get from right-hander Paul Blackburn when returns from the injured list and Tylor Megill, who is on the 60-day injured list, can rarely be counted on outside of the months of April and September.
