For the second straight game, Dillon Gee was knocked out after four innings.
But unlike in his previous outing, when the Mets pitcher was brilliant until a 71-minute rain delay forced him from the game in Atlanta, Gee had no one to blame but himself last night in a 7-3 loss to the A’s at Citi Field.
The rookie right-hander’s attempt at improving to 8-0 was derailed quickly, and the Mets’ eighth-inning rally fell short when Josh Thole, representing the tying run, grounded to second with the bases loaded to end the threat.
The Mets spent most of the night trying to make up for Gee’s mistakes against the A’s, winners of six straight. After not walking more than four batters in a game all season, he issued six in the first three innings last night.
Jason Bay provided the lone bright spot by supplying much of the offense for the Mets, who have now lost four of five. He was in the middle of a run-scoring rally in the fourth, blasted a solo home run in the sixth and knocked in another run in the eighth with a triple to deep center that nearly bounced off Coco Crisp’s glove for a homer. Bay finished 3-for-3 to raise his average to .236.
Before the game, Terry Collins said he was concerned Gee’s 53-pitch outing against the Braves might leave him too strong.
“That could be,” Collins said. “But if one guy can stay within himself, it’s Dillon Gee. He was crisp [against the Braves]. If he’s anything near that, he’s going to be good.”
He wasn’t.
Gee started off by walking Jemile Weeks and Cliff Pennington in the first. A single by Crisp loaded the bases for Hideki Matsui, who hit a sacrifice fly to center. Conor Jackson followed with an RBI groundout to third for a 2-0 lead.
The rookie settled down to retire the order in the second, but he made more trouble for himself in the third, again walking Weeks and Pennington. After Crisp flied to left, Gee walked Matsui to load the bases and Jackson to walk in a run. Ryan Sweeney then hit a run-scoring single grounder up the middle that a diving Ruben Tejada couldn’t corral.
Gee, who dropped to 7-1, fell behind 11 of 17 hitters in the first three innings. From ahead in the count, those 11 A’s hitters went 2-for-5 with six walks. Gee threw just 45 of his 87 pitches for strikes.
In the fourth, Angel Pagan hit a one-out double that fell in front of right fielder Ryan Sweeney. Bay followed with a walk and Ronny Paulino reached on an error by Weeks to fill the bases before Ruben Tejada had a sacrifice fly to drive in the Mets’ first run. Collins then opted to remove Gee for pinch-hitter Scott Hairston, who popped out to second.
D.J. Carrasco, who replaced Gee, wasn’t much better. He allowed the first four A’s he faced to reach and the Mets’ deficit quickly went to 6-1. Carrasco gave up another run in the sixth, which Bay managed to get back in the bottom of the inning on his homer to left, his third of the season and first since May 13.
