The New York Mets had a chance to get a rare series win against the Phillies today, but Kodai Senga had other plans.
The New York Mets lost the rubber game of their three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies in frustrating fashion today as they dropped a winnable, back-and-forth battle, 5-4, due to the first appearance out of the bullpen by Kodai Senga.
The Mets employed an interesting pitching strategy in this one as they stacked up several of their worst pitchers. Cionel Perez got the job done as the opener with a two-strikeout first inning, but Tobias Myers failed badly after that by giving up three runs in three innings.
The Phillies strung together the runs on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Harper, a double by Alec Bohm and an RBI single from Brandon Marsh to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead.
The Mets countered with their first run in the fifth off Jesus Luzardo as Tyrone Taylor singled, a walk to Brett Baty got him to second, and a single by Carson Benge drove home Taylor.
Nail-biting time followed for the Mets as Kodai Senga then entered the game to try to pick up Myers, and Senga initially duplicated his last start, with a strong initial inning in the fifth followed by a massive jam that nearly ruined him in the sixth.
The Mets, meanwhile were getting their leadoff man on in four straight innings, and the fourth time turned out to be the charm when Luzardo left after five due to a high pitch count. The Mets broke through. via a rally that started with a rare opposite-field double by Francisco Alvarez off reliever Chase Shugart, and A.J. Ewing tied the game at 3-3 with a pinch-hit, two-run homer.
The Mets took the lead later in the inning as Brett Baty then walked and Luis Torrens singled him to third. A line drive by Benge off new reliever Kyle Shugart caromed off the pitcher’s glove, and while Bohm was able to make the play from his spot at third to get a forceout, it allowed Baty to come home with the lead run to make it 4-3.
That put the Mets in the precarious position of relying on Senga to hold a one-run lead, and that bad idea turned into a worse reality when Senga gave up a single to Justin Crawford followed by a two-run homer by Kyle Schwarber. The exasperating sequence was all too familiar to Mets fans, as Senga nibbled and nibbled without being able to put hitters away until he finally gave up the Schwarber bomb.
The Mets had plenty of chances throughout the game, but they left a total of 14 runners on base, and Philly closer Jhoan Duran nailed this one down despite giving the Mets one last chance with a walk to Baty. New York heads north to meet the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow night with Sean Manaea on the mound against Trey Yesavage.
