Mets' latest 7-game skid might be the most worrisome: ‘We gotta get our starters going'

New York Times

3 days ago

MILWAUKEE — When Edwin Díaz reached the first step of the New York Mets' dugout, the closer tapped his chest as he looked toward catcher Francisco Alvarez, taking responsibility for the latest exasperating loss.
It was Díaz who shook off a fastball in favor of the slider that stayed too much over the middle. From there, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Isaac Collins, the first batter of the bottom of the ninth inning, crushed the pitch for a walk-off home run. Indeed, it gets worse by the day for the Mets.
The 7-6 loss on Sunday marked the seventh straight defeat, matching the Mets' longest losing streak of the season — yes, this happening before makes it all the more concerning — and it's in serious contention for the most brutal. They blew a five-run lead. Díaz was the one who walked off the mound with his head down, but the blame for the Mets' spiral extends well beyond him.
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On June 12, the Mets held a 5 1/2-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the National League East. After Sunday's games, the Mets trailed the Phillies by 5 1/2 games for first place in the NL East.
'We can go on a run — we've still got time,' Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. 'It just takes putting it together, playing some good baseball. We've still got a shot, and this team has been known to go on runs.'
More updated numbers on the wrong side of a run: The Mets have dropped 11 of their past 12 games. Since June 13 (the start of their other seven-game losing streak), they are 18-31.
'We haven't played well in quite a bit now,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'That's what happens. We can't be looking at the standings. We gotta start getting the job done. It's that simple.'
It's tough for the Mets to win when their starting pitchers fail to complete five innings — let alone six. The Brewers (73-44), winners of nine straight games, present a challenge with pesky at-bats, speed and consistent contact. But they didn't slug much this season until they saw the Mets, who gave up six home runs over the weekend, including three (William Contreras hit the two others) on Sunday. While the Mets' inconsistent lineup contributed plenty to dragging the club down over the past coupleof months, New York's problem with its starting pitchers gets bleaker each turn through the rotation.
'We gotta get our starters going,' Mendoza said.
To get that done, the Mets' best choice may be to promote one of their top pitching prospects by the end of the week. It's unknown whether they will. People familiar with the club's thinking said before Sunday's game that no decisions were made and options were still being discussed. For New York, nothing is off the table at this point.
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In Triple-A Syracuse, Nolan McLean, who allowed just one run in four innings on Sunday, has a 2.78 ERA while red-hot Brandon Sproat boasts a 1.15 ERA over his past seven starts. With just 44 games left, it's unlikely that the Mets deploy a six-man rotation — they'd prefer to have their best pitchers appear as frequently as possible. If one of the prospects receives a promotion, a piggyback role or replacing Frankie Montas as a starter seems more plausible.
Meanwhile, Mendoza sounded noncommittal regarding Montas' role after the right-hander followed an opener on Saturday with a so-so performance and then watched Sean Manaea last just four innings on Sunday.
The Mets tried to push Manaea further, and it didn't work. After allowing three runs in the fourth inning, he returned to the mound for the fifth inning. He stayed for just three more pitches; Collins chased him from the game with a single. Manaea, again relying mostly on just his fastball and sweeper, needed 87 pitches to navigate his outing. He was charged with four earned runs, six hits and two walks. After making his season debut July 13, he has yet to throw more than 5 2/3 innings in an outing, usually hitting a wall around the 70-pitch mark or the second or third time through a batting order.
The outlook on Manaea, someone they count on, is doubly concerning when Kodai Senga is also laboring to get through five innings and no Mets starter other than David Peterson has completed six innings since June 7.
Manaea said he thought his stuff was trending in the right direction. Mendoza said he trusted Manaea to rediscover what worked late last season.
'We're all waiting,' Mendoza said. 'He'll be the first one that tells you. He's having a hard time, especially the second and third time through (the batting order). Looks like hitters are making adjustments.
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'We saw it last year — he was using three pitches, the fastball at the top, the sweeper and the changeup. That third pitch, he's going to need that one.
'We gotta get him going, and we will, but right now, he's having a hard time.'
In the meantime, the bullpen is tasked with a heavy workload. On Sunday, Mendoza went with Tyler Rogers for a third straight day, Ryan Helsley in a back-to-back. Mendoza used Reed Garrett as the opener on Saturday. By the fourth inning, Garrett was already warming again. In the fifth, he relieved Manaea.
The Mets' bullpen failed them over the weekend (to be fair, the Mets went 3-for-29 combined after the sixth inning of each game against the Brewers, including no hits after the sixth inning on Sunday). But no matter how good the Mets' bullpen is or is supposed to be, the starters failing to provide any length is not sustainable. Making a change to the rotation wouldn't fix all the Mets' issues — and others certainly exist. But it's at least an attempt at doing something differently when the status quo continues to not be good enough.
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