The New York Mets lost its third straight game after the Athletics ousted them 4-0 in second baseman Jeff McNeil's return to Citi Field.
After going on a four-game winning streak with three wins over the San Francisco Giants and winning the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the New York Mets have dropped three consecutive games and sit at .500.
The Diamondbacks took the final two games of their three-game set to win the series over the Mets before the Athletics came to town and took the opener 4-0 in second baseman Jeff McNeil’s return to Citi Field.
McNeil went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI single while shortstop Jacob Wilson went 3-for-4 as the middle infield duo sprayed it around the field and served as catalysts for the Athletics’ offense. Five pitchers combined to pitch a shutout for the A’s and allowed just six hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts.
While it was a quiet night for New York, shortstop Francisco Lindor, designated hitter Bo Bichette and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. collected hits. Bichette now has hits in eight of nine games this month while Robert has hits in six of eight games. Lindor is still struggling but has hits in three of his last four games.
Mets right-hander Clay Holmes pitched well but was on the wrong side of the decision, earning the loss after pitching 5.1 innings and allowing just one run on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Righty swingman Tobias Myers allowed three runs on four hits with a strikeout over three innings of work.
Holmes exited the game after allowing a single to Wilson in the sixth inning with what the team is calling left hamstring tightness. He believes it’s nothing serious and he will be able to make his next start.
The Mets will turn to righty Kodai Senga to end the Mets’ skid against Athletics lefty Jacob Lopez.
Senga has been quite good for New York, pitching into the sixth inning and allowing just two runs in both of his two starts. He carries an 0-1 record with a 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 16 strikeouts into a meeting with a team he has great success against.
Lopez hasn’t been great thus far, allowing six runs on nine hits and 10 walks with six strikeouts over 8.1 innings through two starts. He also carries an 0-1 record but has a 6.48 ERA and 2.28 WHIP.
The Athletics are heating up as a team and have begun a three-game winning streak against the New York teams after winning the final two games and their series against the Yankees prior to the opener against the Mets.
First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. EST on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.