Heading into play on Saturday, the Mets had spun off seven wins in a row, starting with a dramatic sweep of the Nationals, a dominant sweep of the Marlins, and a character-driven win in game one of their series against the Rays.
They looked unstoppable, almost flawless. They were firing on all cylinders. Even after the top of the first inning, it looked like it was just going to be another convincing day for the Mets offense, as they were averaging 5.6 runs per game over their last 13 games, during which the club had gone 10-3.
But the Mets flat lined a bit after that top of the first inning on Saturday, both on offense and in support of Noah Syndergaard, who had a rare off-night on the mound.
It was a good start followed by a disappointing finish.
They certainly had their chances to take back their command of Saturday’s game. They had two baserunners in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth, but they couldn’t get any of them in. The Rays then sent the Mets down in order in each of the final three innings, striking out 15 times on the night.
But the night was mostly marred by a mistake by shortstop Ruben Tejada in the fourth inning.
With two outs and John Jaso on third base – who had gotten there thanks to a wild pitch from Syndergaard – Evan Longoria hit a routine roundball to short. But, Tejada took a slow, circular route on the ball, and then could not get the handle on the throw before firing to first.
By then, it was too late. Longoria was safe, Jaso had scored, and the Rays never looked back.
“If Ruben doesn’t double clutch on that, he throws him out,” manager Terry Collins said. “The wild pitch, that was a big part of it also. But we didn’t mount anything, either. We had 15 strikeouts. That is something we haven’t done at all.”
It was a bad play by Tejada. He knows he needed to make that play.
“It made a difference in the game,” the shortstop explained.
He had been so good at making the routine plays until that point in what has been a revival of a season for Tejada. It was somewhat shocking he played the ball in the manner he did. But, unfortunately it happens, even to the best defenders in the league.
This time, it was very costly because the Mets simply could not mount a counter attack against the Rays and their over-taxed bullpen.
They’re not going to win every game. But this one was tough because they blew a lead, scored their four runs, yet they still lost. They’re also faced with the task of beating Chris Archer in the rubber game on Sunday, who is among the premier pitchers in the American League.
Of course, nobody said it was going to be as easy as it had looked over the last two weeks.
Just Mets 