Much like in last night’s game, the Mets went down big early, but this time not only the Mets did not have a comeback in them, it just kept getting worse, as they fell to the Cubs 10-3 in what I can only describe
as a journey through a carnival haunted house inhabited by menacing clowns.
It was another rough outing for Jonah Tong, unfortunately. He got into trouble immediately in the first when he gave up a leadoff double to Michael Busch and then with his pitch count already rising fast, a questionable ball three call (it should have been strike three) led to a walk to Nico Hoerner. Tong bounced back to strike out Ian Happ—the only strikeout he would record in the outing—but then Moisés Ballesteros singled up the middle. In his first game back from the injured list, Tyrone Taylor made an immediate impact, gunning down Busch at the plate for the second out. He was initially called safe, but replay review demonstrated that he was clearly out and the call was overturned.
That helped Tong wriggle out of the first inning unscathed and it looked like he just might settle in after a quick second, but everything unraveled for Tong in the third. A single, a walk, and another single loaded the bases and then Ian Happ got the Cubs on the board with an RBI double that plated two runs. Ballesteros then hit another well-placed single—this time just past a diving Vientos to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. Seiya Suzuki then doubled to extend that lead to 4-0 and Tong was removed from the game before recording an out in the third.
This was about the worst thing that could have happened to the Mets, who completely depleted their bullpen after David Peterson’s early exit last night. Dicky Lovelady—one of the only pitchers who was not used in last night’s game—came in and stopped the bleeding…temporarily. He struck out the first batter he faced and then a sac fly made the score 5-0 Cubs, but he struck out the next batter to finally, mercifully end the inning. Matt Shaw hit a solo homer off Lovelady in the fourth to extend the Cubs’ lead to 6-0.
The Mets had a brief glimmer of hope in the fifth when Mark Vientos hit a ball that ate up Shaw at third base for a single and then Francisco Alvarez went deep for the second straight night to put the Mets on the board and cut the Cubs’ lead to four runs. There was still a lot of ballgame left to be played; maybe the Mets could do it again. But then the bottom of the fifth happened—an inning that I wish to erase from my memory forever immediately after writing this recap, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind style.
Lovelady issued a walk to Ballesteros to lead off the frame and then was taken out of the game in favor of…Clay Holmes, who was forced into service on his throw day because the Mets had no one else to pitch. He recorded two quick groundouts and then induced a third off the bat of Pete Crow-Armstrong, but this was the moment of the game when the Mets’ unspeakably bad defense and penchant for mental errors struck again. Mark Vientos made a terrible throw to first base that went by Pete Alonso, scoring a run and allowing Crow-Armstrong to advance to second base. Clay Holmes then threw a wild pitch and rather than covering home plate as Francisco Alvarez scampered desperately after the ball, Holmes simply watched the play unfold instead. By the time he awoke from his slumber and ran toward home plate it was too late; Crow-Armstrong was sliding home all the way from second base for the Cubs’ eighth run.
Because it was also his throw day, Sean Manaea pitched in this game for the Mets as well, though I’m sure this is not the piggybacking situation the Mets envisioned for Holmes and Manaea when they first devised the plan. Michael Busch launched a two-run homer off Manaea in the sixth to give the Cubs a double-digit run total. Juan Soto hit a meaningless long ball of his own—a solo shot and his 43rd home run of the season—off Aaron Civale in the eighth inning. Civale earned a three-inning save in relief of Matthew Boyd, who earned his 14th win of the season. Ryan Helsley pitched the final two innings of the game for the Mets and was the only Mets pitcher to not be scored upon in this game.
As I type these words, the Cincinnati Reds have already lost to the Pirates in extra innings and the Diamondbacks are losing to the Dodgers in Phoenix. So it is possible that despite this comedy of errors, the Mets could lose no ground tonight in the NL Wild Card race. However, that doesn’t make tonight’s performance any less embarrassing.
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Big Mets winner: Francisco Alvarez, +8.4% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jonah Tong, -29.3% WPA
Mets pitchers: -33.9% WPA
Mets hitters: -16.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Alvarez’s two-run homer in the fifth, +4.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ian Happ’s RBI double in the third, -13.1% WPA
