Defense let down a pair of Mets pitchers.
Their own defense, that is.
Costly errors by Tylor Megill and reliever José Castillo led to four unearned runs in the Mets’ 8-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night in Queens.
Megill’s miscue was particularly back-breaking, as it prolonged a five-run fourth inning in which the Rays pounded the right-hander.
The defeat clinched the Mets’ first series loss at Citi Field in more than a month and only their second of the season.
The Mets led 2-1 going into the fourth, but 21-year-old Rays phenom Junior Caminero quickly tied the score with a no-doubt, 409-foot home run to lead off the frame.
The Rays scored their next run when Taylor Walls laid down a one-out bunt with runners on first and third.
Megill fielded the ball and glanced home, but, realizing the go-ahead run was going to score, attempted to take the easy out at first. The ball squirted out of Megill’s hand, however, which allowed Walls to reach on the error.
The hard-throwing Megill struck out Josh Lowe for the second out of the inning, but he failed to retire another batter.
Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz delivered back-to-back RBI singles, and after a walk to Jonathan Aranda, Megill threw a run-scoring wild pitch that put the Mets behind 6-2.
The final three runs of the inning were unearned.
Megill was charged with six runs (three earned) in 3.2 innings — his second-shortest start of the season — and gave up seven hits and two walks against five strikeouts. He also hit two batters.
Four of those hits came in the fourth inning, as did both walks and one of the hit batsmen.
Megill exited to boos from some within a crowd of 41,662, many of whom stuck around after the start of the game was delayed by 51 minutes due to rain.
After recording a 3.52 ERA over his first 11 starts, Megill has pitched to a 5.52 ERA over his last three.
The Mets cut into their deficit in the fifth inning when Ronny Mauricio’s solo home run and Brandon Nimmo’s RBI single — both with two outs — against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen made it a 7-4 game.
But the momentum immediately shifted back to Tampa Bay when Castillo dropped a routine throw from Pete Alonso at first base to begin the sixth.
José Buttó replaced Castillo, and on his very first pitch, Díaz struck an RBI triple off of the right-field wall. That run, too, was unearned.
Juan Soto went 0-for-4, including a double play, marking the first time in 16 games that he failed to reach base.
Alonso reached base for the 22nd game in a row, meanwhile, with an eighth-inning single that saved the streak. He finished 1-for-4.
Brett Baty hit his eighth home run with a third-inning solo shot against Rasmussen, who allowed four runs in five innings.
But that wasn’t enough for the Mets, who also lost the series opener, 7-5, on Friday night. The Rays also rode a big inning to victory in that game, too, by scoring six runs in the sixth.
The Mets had not lost a series at Citi Field since the Arizona Diamondbacks won back-to-back games there on April 30 and May 1. The Mets are now 10-2 in series at home.
They’ll attempt to prevent being swept for the first time this season on Sunday, with Griffin Canning (6-2, 3.22 ERA) scheduled to pitch for the Mets and Shane Baz (5-3, 4.97 ERA) set to start for Tampa Bay.
