3 takeaways: NY Mets offense is getting its chances but not cashing in
· Yahoo Sports
ST. LOUIS — The loss will go down on Tobias Myers' ledger, but the Mets will rue missed opportunity after missed opportunity at the plate with a chance to grab control of their series against the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The Mets had chances with runners in scoring position in four out of the last five innings but could not cash in.
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After Myers helped send the automatic runner back to the bench with three straight outs in the 10th, he could not replicate the feat one inning later. He induced a double play but Masyn Winn's lofted an RBI single that dropped just out of reach of a diving Carson Benge as the Mets fell, 2-1, and lost the series in front of 21,684 fans in St. Louis.
With one run combined across 20 innings in the final two games of the series, the Mets dropped two straight games and slipped to 3-3 heading into a four-game series with the Giants, beginning 9:45 p.m. Thursday at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
After a second straight bleak offensive effort, here are three takeaways from the Mets' series loss to the Cardinals:
Mets offense goes missing
After being shut out for the first time this season on Saturday, the Mets' offensive woes carried over one day later.
Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore opened the game with 14 straight outs before Mark Vientos was able to pick up the Mets' first hit on a double but that illuminated the club's struggles with scoring position. Francisco Alvarez struck out with two runners on base and the Mets finished the game 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
"Ultra aggressive at times, expanding at times, as well, with some of the guys," Carlos Mendoza said. "We've just got to get back to what we do well, which is controlling the strike zone, getting good pitches to hit and doing damage. Good hitters that right now for a couple of games, they're not getting it done."
In the ninth inning after Jorge Polanco laced a leadoff double, the Mets went down in order, including strikeouts by Luis Robert Jr. and Marcus Semien. Even with the automatic runner in the 10th, Juan Soto, who supplied the team's lone run on a solo home run, popped up to the second baseman.
The Mets had two cracks with the bases loaded in the 11th but Brett Baty grounded into a fielder's choice with a broken-bat squib and Semien flew out to right field. The Mets finished the series 1-for-29 with runners in scoring position.
"We got to make some adjustments, but they're good hitters," Mendoza said. "Right now, for the last couple of games, we haven't got the job done."
Tobias Myers, Mets bullpen strength spoiled
As they have all season long, the Mets bullpen kept the team within striking distance.
After Freddy Peralta was charged with a run in the sixth, Brooks Raley struck out two in a perfect seventh inning. Luke Weaver gave up some hard contact but worked a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout. Devin Williams worked around a leadoff walk and a stolen base with two fly balls and strikeout of Jordan Walker to force extra innings.
That high-leverage trio has now combined to toss nine scoreless innings with three hits, four walks and 10 strikeouts.
"The good sign is those guys continue to give us a chance to win baseball games," Mendoza said. "If they do that, we're going to be in a good place. I think that's the encouraging sign from the bullpen and for the whole pitching staff that they're keeping us in games here."
The only damage against Myers, who had tossed 1⅓ innings with three strikeouts in Monday's win, was Winn's bloop single which went down as the game-winning hit.
"Our pitching has done a tremendous job. Yeah, we've got to score runs for them. It's one of those where you hope to put it together as many times as you can throughout the year. We have put it together, just not every day."
Despite a little bit more traffic, Peralta matched Liberatore every step of the way. He allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks in 5⅓ innings with seven strikeouts. He had a stretch of 10 straight outs in between the first and fourth innings and dropped his ERA to 4.35 on the early season.
Rare mental miscues by Francisco Lindor
In his five seasons with the Mets, the team has gotten accustomed to polished defense and crisp baserunning from Lindor, but Wednesday was the rare exception.
In the opening inning with one out and a runner on first, Alec Burleson shot a bouncing ball up the middle. It was a tailormade double play, but Lindor nonchalantly stepped on second base without throwing to first base.
It forced Peralta to throw five more pitches in the opening inning.
"I forgot the outs. I made a mistake that probably cost Peralta to go an extra innings," Lindor said. "He had to throw more pitches after that. It's inexcusable."
Another gaffe may have cost the Mets another run. In the sixth inning, Lindor reached on an error by Nolan Gorman at third base but was picked off first base. Mendoza said that the Mets thought they had a tip off Liberatore, but he caught them with a quick step-off move.
In the next at-bat, Soto pulled a solo home run inside the left-field foul pole for his first long ball of the season that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.
"I should've been better," Lindor said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Three takeaways as NY Mets lose to St. Louis Cardinals in extra innings