PHILADELPHIA — The Mets hit a grand slam of sorts Sunday with poor offense, pitching, defense and base running.
Other than that, it was a strong performance by manager Luis Rojas’ beleaguered bunch.
Six weeks remain in the regular season, but the Mets already appear battered, tired and overmatched. Their latest stinker, a 6-2 loss at Citizens Bank Park that completed a Phillies three-game sweep, rated among the Mets’ least inspired performances of the season.
“Is it bitter that we just got swept?” J.D Davis asked rhetorically. “Absolutely, it’s unacceptable. I hate losing and everybody in that locker room hates losing and especially getting swept by the Phillies, it’s unacceptable.
“I know it’s 60 games and everybody likes to have this sense of urgency. But at the end of the day we are facing our division a lot, so our future, our destiny is in our hands and we can change it real quick.”
Included in the carnage were Andres Gimenez and Wilson Ramos running the Mets out of innings and errors by Davis and Dominic Smith that helped the Phillies pad their lead, after Rick Porcello became the latest starting pitcher for the team to get spanked in the middle innings. On Friday and Saturday it was Walker Lockett and Steven Matz, respectively, who received fifth-inning beatdowns. Porcello’s turn came Sunday in the sixth, when Andrew McCutchen smashed a two-run homer that put the Phillies ahead to stay.
This was one ugly Mets loss.AP“One night it’s the pitching, one night it’s the hitting, we haven’t been able to get everything firing on all cylinders consistently,” said Porcello, whose Mets (9-14) open a four-game series Monday in Miami. “That is really something we need to get going. We have a couple of games where we look like we’re rolling and then we get a couple of tough ones and we’re right back in that position again.”
Zack Wheeler, in his first appearance against his former team, allowed two earned runs on six hits over seven innings with four strikeouts and one walk for the win.
Porcello rolled into the sixth, but caught an unfortunate break when J.T. Realmuto’s grounder hit third base and caromed past Davis for a leadoff double. Porcello retired Didi Gregorius but then surrendered an RBI single to Alec Bohm that tied it 2-2. With Jared Hughes warming up in the bullpen, Rojas stuck with Porcello, who surrendered the two-run blast to McCutchen.
Overall, the right-hander lasted six innings and allowed four earned runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts. It was the third straight start in which Porcello did not walk a batter.
Luis Guillorme’s slicing single just inside third base brought in two runs in the fourth in giving the Mets a 2-1 lead. But an opportunity for a bigger inning was dashed as Ramos got thrown out at third base by Jay Bruce (who had fielded the ball bare-handed) to end the inning. Wheeler had drilled Ramos to load the bases after Davis and Robinson Cano had singled in the inning.
Jean Segura hit a shot to right field in the first inning on which Michael Conforto leaped near the fence, but saw the ball hit behind him. Segura raced to third for a triple and scored on Rhys Hoskins’ ensuing single to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
Gimenez was thrown out at the plate to end the second inning, after attempting to score on a wild throw from Bohm on Ramos’ infield single. Hoskins fired a strike to the plate to nail Gimenez.
Rojas was asked if the loss felt more deflating because of the Mets’ base-running and defensive miscues.
“I think we have done a good job on the bases, stealing bases and going first-to-third,” Rojas said. “But on defense, that is something that really haunted us before, early in the season. It forces pitchers to make extra pitches. It was kind of like that game today where a couple of errors can really haunt us trying to get that extra out.”
