The New York Mets couldn't hit at all against Merrill Kelly of Arizona, and they managed just three hits in this one.
The New York Mets got shut down once again as they lost a 2-1 pitchers duel to the Arizona Diamondbacks, as Merrill Kelly outdueled Clay Holmes to even the three-game series at a game each.
Runs were hard to come by in this one, which isn’t exactly a new experience for the Mets these days. They scored first in the second inning as Brett Baty drove in Marcus Semien with a double after Semien singled, but those two hits represented nearly the entire New York offense as the Mets managed just one more hit. Merrill dominated throughout, and a pair of relievers did the same.
The Diamondbacks erased the 1-0 deficit against Holmes in the third when Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo singled, and Adrian Del Castillo walked. Ildemaro Vargas then singled to score two runs and make it a 2-1 game.
Clay Holmes was strong other than that brief blip, and he left with two outs the sixth and a runner on. First up in the bullpen was Austin Warren, who picked him up and followed with a scoreless inning, and Craig Kimbrel was next up with another shutout frame.
Kelly was followed by Taylor Clarke in the eighth and closer Paul Seward in the ninth, and neither reliever had trouble disposing of the Mets’ punchless lineup. The Mets struck out eight times, and the only other hit was a double by Tyrone Taylor.
It’s not hard to see why the Mets are getting shut down. Juan Soto and Bo Bichette are both slumping, with Soto’s average now down to .273 and Bichettte scuffling at .226 to go with a pathetic overall slash line of .226/.269/.296. The Mets have rookie Carson Benge in the five hole and retread MJ Melendez hitting third, so this is a lineup that doesn’t scare anyone.
The Mets wasted a fine start by Holmes that lowered his ERA to a sparkling 1.86, and his record should be a lot better than 4-3. The Mets still have a chance to win tomorrow and take their third series in a row, but this is a lineup that doesn’t produce runs beyond the occasional offensive explosion.
New York is now underwater at 15-24, and they’re 11 games behind the Atlanta Braves with three other teams in front of them in the NL East standings. It’s getting late early for the Mets, and games like tonight’s make it hard to see how they’ll turn things around.