The Mets have developed a reputation for being able to fix back-end rotation arms, turning them into frontline starters.
They might have struck out on Frankie Montas.
The right-hander had another tough start Sunday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants took seven runs off of him in only four innings, costing them in a 12-4 loss. Montas was booed when he took the mound in the fifth inning with the Mets down by the same score, and booed even louder after walking Matt Chapman, the first hitter and only hitter he faced in the inning.
The boos grew louder as Montas and his 6.68 ERA walked off the field.
Manager Carlos Mendoza sidestepped the question of whether or not the Mets plan to keep him in the rotation, but he didn’t commit to the idea of it.
“We just got done with a game here,” Mendoza said. “He’s got to be better, he knows that. So, yeah.”
For his part, Montas thinks he has enough time to turn it around.
“The season is not over and I’ve just got to keep working,” Montas said. “There is a lot of room to improve.”
The Mets (63-49) knew they weren’t going to bat 1.000 on each pitcher they took a chance on, and the veteran right-hander has shown good stuff in limited outings this season. However, it’s tough to give pitchers the runway they need to fix whatever ails them this time of year, especially without much room in the standings.
It’s even tougher to give Montas runway when the Mets aren’t getting length out of their starters. Kodai Senga went only five innings in Saturday’s win. David Peterson, the workhorse of the staff, went six Friday night, which, to the Mets, might as well be about eight.
Mendoza thinks the issue of length started when Senga and Sean Manaea returned from the injured list with restrictive pitch counts right before the All-Star break, but the Mets have been dealing with this for a few months. The rotation has contributed 561 1/3 innings, the fifth-fewest in baseball.
“We went through a stretch for like three weeks where they were on a pitch count right? So that’s going to take a toll,” Mendoza said. “You’re talking about starting with about 1/4 of their pitch count. Now they’ve gotten to a point where it’s like, alright, they’ve gotten up to 90-plus [pitches] two starts in a row from Senga and two from Montas, and they’ve struggled. So they’ve got to get better, and they know that.”
Montas retired the Giants in order in the first inning Sunday, coming back for the second with a 1-0 lead after Francisco Lindor hit home run No. 21 on the season in the bottom of the first off of left-hander Carson Whisenhunt. Once again, San Francisco went down in order in the second, but Montas fell apart in the third.
Two singles and an error trying to catch a runner stealing resulted in the Giants tying the game at 1-1. Grant McCray struck out to bring up the top of the order. Heliot Ramos walked on five pitches, and Rafael Devers teed off on a fastball, sending it over the right field fence for a three-run homer.
“Definitely a tough day for me,” Montas said. “They have a really good hitting lineup, and I know I missed a couple spots, one on Devers. He’s a great hitter and put a good swing on it.”
The fourth inning was more of the same, but without the home run. Montas allowed four more runs in the fourth, bringing his total to seven earned on seven hits, walking two and striking out three in four innings (plus one batter).
Much like last week in San Diego, Montas lost his swing-and-miss stuff and went to his fastball, which he threw mostly down the middle. It’s not an effective formula.
Right-hander Austin Warren gave the Mets a chance to get back into the game with 4.0 innings of scoreless work, the second-longest scoreless outing by a Mets reliever this season. If the plan is to get to the bullpen to match up against opposing lineups for 5-6 innings every night, it’s not a good one.
“Warren saved my bullpen big time there,” Mendoza said. “Him going four innings was unbelievable, but yeah, I mean it starts with starting pitching. We were able to match up yesterday and ended up winning the game. But [doing that in] back-to-back games? That’s almost impossible.”
Once again, the Mets struggled to hit a lefty. Whisenhunt (1-0) held them to two runs (one earned) on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. Two former Mets pitchers, right-hander Jose Butto and left-hander Joey Lucchesi, combined with right-hander Ryan Walker to keep the Mets scoreless the rest of the way.
The Giants (56-56) crushed Ryne Stanek for five earned runs in the top of the ninth, with Casey Schmitt sending a three-run homer over the left field fence to end his day. Catcher Luis Torrens took over on the mound with two outs, becoming the 42nd pitcher to appear in a game for the Mets this season, setting a new club record.
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