PHILADELPHIA — The Mets‘ season is practically on life support.
It’s tough to tell if their biggest rival is actually the Philadelphia Phillies or themselves.
Wednesday night’s 11-3 loss to the Phillies went like so many of the Mets’ losses have gone since June, when their starting rotation fell apart. Clay Holmes gave up two early runs, the Mets made it close with a run off left-hander Christopher Sanchez in the top of fourth, but Holmes couldn’t keep it close, giving up two more in the bottom of the fifth to end his outing early.
The bats then went quiet.
This has been the pattern since the middle of June. It’s a frustrating one, no doubt, but it’s one the Mets (76-70) haven’t been able to figure out how to halt. They also haven’t been able to figure out how to halt their losing streaks, with this latest one now up to five. They’ve had long winning streaks too, but their inability to sustain one since July has them in third place in the NL Wild Card standings, only two games ahead of the San Francisco Giants.
This pattern has left them in a vulnerable position. The Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks are also within striking distance. The Phillies (86-60) have put 10 games between them and the Mets in the NL East.
Sanchez pitched tough, holding the Mets to one run over six innings. The Mets managed only four hits and one walk, while striking out six times. Juan Soto hit his 39th home run of the season off left-hander Jose Alvarado in the top of the eighth, but by then the game had long been lost.
Holmes gave up a run in the first inning before even getting an out. After loading the bases twice, he minimized the damage by getting out of the inning with only two runs allowed, but his pitch count took a hit. Still, he managed to get out of trouble in the second inning, then settled into the game.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, the right-hander gave up a single and a double to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead, and was then lifted with one on and none out. Left-hander Gregory Soto couldn’t hold the inherited runner on base, giving up an RBI single to the first batter he faced.
Down 4-1, Soto imploded in the sixth, giving up three hits and hitting two batters. Philadelphia scored four times to go up 8-1, and it was over from there.
Holmes was charged with four earned runs on six hits, walking three, hitting two and striking out five. He made it through only four innings, and has pitched six or more only once since June.
There is little to indicate that Holmes or left-hander Sean Manaea can give the Mets more than a few quality innings every 5-6 days.
However, there is plenty to indicate that the lineup is capable of more. Being on the receiving end of dominant pitching performances over the last five days doesn’t absolve the lineup of any blame, but the Mets had the hottest offense in baseball last month. There are elite hitters up and down the lineup. It’s a mystery as to why the hitting, pitching and defense can’t seem to come together at the same time.
But if they don’t solve it soon, they’ll be out of action come October.
