Bartolo Colon seemed precisely in-sync with the Mets offense on Sunday.
When they were rolling, Colon was at his best. When they flamed out, Colon struggled.
The Mets plated three runs against Rays ace Chris Archer in the second inning, thanks in part to his inability to find the strike zone and one big hit from Daniel Murphy to score two runs.
But Tampa Bay began to figure Colon out immediately in the third inning, just as the Mets offense cooled off. Rookie Richie Shaffer recorded the first of his three hits against Colon to lead off the inning, then with one out, Rene Rivera doubled Shaffer over to third. Colon then gave one run back on a sacrifice fly from John Jaso.
The tide clearly began to turn in that inning.
Colon was able to stymie a threat from the Rays in the fourth inning after Evan Longoria singled to lead off the frame with three fly ball outs.
But it was clear Colon’s two seamer was no longer finding the corners at that point. His pitches were elevated and floating over the middle of the plate, which results in an ineffective outing more often than not for the veteran right-hander.
The Rays tied the game at three a piece after Shaffer singled again, followed by a single from Brandon Guyer and a two-run double from Jaso.
The Rays took the lead for good when Shaffer delivered the final blow in the seventh inning with a leadoff homer.
“I made one mistake,” Colon explained of the pitch to Shaffer. “It was the wrong location. I left it and I threw it where the hitters like it and I paid the price.”
Still, Colon wasn’t displeased with his performance despite his inability to hold the three-run lead his club gave him early on.
“I’ve been working fine and I’m happy with my performance even though we lost,” Colon explained. “I’ve been working, tweaking some things in the bullpen and back on track. Hopefully we can get back on track as a team and win some games.”
The final line for Colon wasn’t great. He allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings on nine hits and didn’t strike out a single hitter for his 11th loss of the season.
“The last two nights we didn’t pitch like we normally have,” Collins said after dropping the series against the Rays on Sunday.
As is the case with much of the Mets pitching, Colon’s struggles have come away from Citi Field this season. The opposition has hit .298 against Colon in 11 starts on the road, during which he’s posted a 5.03 ERA in 68 innings.
Of course, his numbers at home are not much better – the opposition is hitting .279 and he’s posted a 4.48 ERA in 11 starts at Citi Field.
This is just what Colon is at this point in his career. He throws his fastball 85-88 mph with the occasional reach back for 89-90. He’s been living dangerously all season long by pitching up in the zone, and if that two-seamer is not on the corners, he is finished before he starts.
In reality, he was getting away with murder over the first two innings against the Rays on Sunday. His pitches were up in the zone in those innings, but the Rays were hitting the ball hard but right at people.
Eventually, those balls dropped and they inflicted damage the second and third time through against Colon.
The Mets had no response to Tampa Bay’s rallies for the second day in a row.
It can be argued Collins might have been better suited lifting Colon after the sixth inning. The Rays clearly had him figured out at that point, Shaffer had two hits against him at that point, and the bullpen was well rested. It seemed like a good spot for Parnell to start the inning and go with the match-ups while hoping the offense might wake up.
Clearly, Collins was looking for seven innings from the starter, but he didn’t get it and the Mets had no response against a Rays bullpen which has really struggled as of late.
Just Mets 