When it comes to breaking the hearts of its fan base, no team twists the knife quite like the New York Mets.
Superstar outfielder Juan Soto slugged his 40th home run and rookie starter Brandon Sproat pitched six strong shutout innings, but the Mets still found a way to lose to the Texas Rangers via a bullpen meltdown by a 3-2 count.
Closer Edwin Diaz played the New York goat in this one, giving up a game-winning single after the Rangers came back from a 2-0 deficit. Left-fielder delivered the hit, but Diaz had plenty of company in the goat department in this particular loss.
Fellow reliever Tyler Rogers started the chaos, letting the Rangers back in the game by allowing a sacrifice fly from journeyman first baseman Joc Pederson. Diaz gave up an RBI double to pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez, and Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez compounded the mess by allowing shortstop Josh Smith to reach base via a catcher’s interference call.
To add agony to the heartbreak, the Mets rallied to get runners on the corners in the bottom of the ninth, but left fielder Brandon Nimmo struck out to end the game as Rangers closer Shawn Armstrong earned his ninth save.
The ugly ending ruined several strong Mets performances. Sproat stepped up to deliver six scoreless innings, and he needed just seventy pitches to shut out the Rangers. The Mets have been careful to keep their prized rookies on a pitch count down the stretch, otherwise they might have leaned on Sproat to go deeper and finish his business.
Juan Soto also had a big day, blasting his 40th homer in the seventh off Texas reliever Hoby Milner. Soto became just the third player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs while stealing 30 bases and walking 100 times, joining Hall of Fame first baseman Jeff Bagwell and outfielder Barry Bonds as a record holder.
The loss dropped the Mets out of the wild-card lead, pending the results of later action involving the San Francisco Giants, and the Cincinnati Reds enter the evening just a game back. The best the Mets can do is end up tied in the loss column with the Giants, and their current eight-game losing streak has put them in a free fall in the wild card race.
Next up for the Mets is yet another rookie starter, with Nolan McLean taking the hill against Rangers lefty Jacob Latz as the Amazins try to avoid another series sweep after dropping four straight to the Philadelphia Phillies.