Red 8, Mets 4: Bullpen falters, offense quiet as Mets lose first game back

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Sean Manaea got his first start of the season as the Mets returned from the All-Star break. They were facing the Reds, who have been nearly perfectly average this year, with Nick Lodolo getting the start.

Sean Manaea had a good top of the first, getting three straight strike outs, two swinging and one looking. In the bottom of the inning Juan Soto hit a solo home run to put the Mets ahead early, but other than that the Mets offense was quiet.

Sean Manaea had a bit of a difficult second, walking two

batters, but he was able to work around the trouble and keep the Reds off the board. A Nimmo walk turned into a Nimmo stolen base to put a runner in scoring position, and Jeff McNeil singled to drive him in for the Mets second run.

Both teams had a quiet third inning, with the only base runner on either side being Friedl after a hit-by-pitch. Austin Hays led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run off Manaea, halving the Mets lead. The Mets went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, keeping their lead at a skinny one run.

Alex Carrillo came in to relieve Manaea in the fifth, and it all went downhill from there. After getting two outs, Carrillo hit Friedl and Matt McLain hit a home run to put the Reds in the lead by a run. He got out of it after that but now the Mets had to climb out of a hole, which was not helped by a bottom of the inning with only a two-out single that nothing came out of.

The bottom fell out during the top of the sixth. Hays led off the inning with another home run, then Spencer Steer walked and Tyler Stepehenson drove him in with a two-run home run, putting the Reds up by four runs. After he walked Trevino, they pulled Carrillo in favor of Brandon Waddell, who got out of it without any further damage. The Mets then went down in order in the bottom of the inning.

In the seventh, McLain doubled and was driven in by an Elly De La Cruz RBI single, adding another run to the deficit for the Mets. Other than a Noelvi Marte two-out single, Waddell was able to get out of the inning without any more trouble. Nimmo led off the bottom of the inning with a single but was stranded after three consecutive outs.

After two straight outs to start the eighth, Waddell hit Friedl then issued three straight walks to drive in another run and put the Mets down six runs. Waddell got out of it after that but the Mets hole was getting deeper with less time to get out of it. And it wasn’t helped by the Mets having yet another inning without a baserunner in the bottom of the eighth.

Tyler Stepehenson hit a one-out double in the top of the ninth, but he was stranded in an otherwise quiet inning for the Reds. With their backs against the wall in the bottom of the inning, the Mets started with two straight outs, but a Nimmo double off Sam Moll kept the inning going. A Mauricio line drive kept the inning going on a misplay by Connor Joe in right field, bringing in Nimmo as the Mets third run. A Jeff McNeil walk drove Moll from the game in favor of Emilio Pagan. Pinch hitter Brett Baty singled to load the bases, and Torrens singled to drive in the Mets fourth run. But after getting a full count, Lindor popped out to end the game.

It was the kind of game that perfectly encapsulated the Mets needs as they approach the trade deadline. A bullpen implosion and quiet offense both contributed to the loss after a good Manaea start. They’ve got a couple of weeks before the deadline, but their holes are glaring at this point.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Sean Manaea, +9.5% WPA
Big Mets loser: Alex Carrillo, -50.8% WPA
Mets pitchers: -42.5% WPA
Mets hitters: -7.5% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto’s first inning home run, +11.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Matt McLain’s two-run home run in the fifth, -29.7% WPA

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