The Mets committed three errors in the first five innings and the Brewers took advantage by earning a split of the four-game series with a 5-3 win on Sunday at Miller Park. >> Read the full AP recap at SNY.TV.
In case you missed it…
- Steven Matz dropped his second straight start following an eight-start unbeaten stretch. The southpaw allowed five runs - four earned - on nine hits in six innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five
- The Mets failed again to capitalize in a bases-loaded situation in the first inning. Matt Reynolds reached on an error, Yoenis Cespedes singled and Kelly Johnson walked to load the bases with one out. But Brewers starter Zach Davies struck out James Loney and retired Wilmer Flores on a fly out to escape trouble.
- Milwaukee scored three runs in the second off Matz on an RBI single by Keon Broxton and a sacrifice by Davies. Another run scored when Johnson couldn't handle Matz's throw to first on the squeeze attempt.
- Davies retired 17 straight batters from the first through the sixth innings. Johnson doubled leading off the seventh and eventually scored on Alejandro De Aza's groundout to second.
- Curtis Granderson had an RBI single in the eighth and scored on Cespedes' second hit of the game, a double to left-center that cut the lead to 5-3.
Rich Coutinho: This was a brutal defensive effort on a number of levels and the Mets dug a hole too deep to crawl out of losing to the Brewers 5-3. The road trip ends up at 5-5-clearly could have been better. To me, the offense at times on this trip looked OK but other times looked overmatched. Injuries certainly have played a role in that but everybody gets injuries and you have to rebound from them.
The Michael Conforto woes are an issue but in his case, I feel you need to keep him here and in the lineup regularly. This sport is a tough game but sometimes adversity in the early part of the year helps define a player's ability to withstand tough times and eventually makes him better. I believe in Conforto and I really think if this team will succeed he has to be a big part of that. The good news is I get the sense Curtis Granderson and Wilmer Flores both have found their strokes and that will help the offense and assist Cespedes who is really the only bat opponents fear right now.
Still, this team has shown resiliency this year much in the same way they illustrated it in 2015 and if the season ended today, they would be a playoff team. And considering all that has gone on, the Mets have everything in their own hands. They will tangle with the Nats seven times before the All-Star Break and that will provide a chance to bridge the gap between themselves and the division leader.
Pitching-wise Matt Harvey seems to have turned the corner and this staff coupled with a great closer will keep this team close. After games like this, The Met twitter world explodes with negativity and I certainly understand that but keep your eyes on the big picture. There is so much baseball yet to play and although they need improvement in certain areas of the roster, we should not forget you don't win a pennant in this sport without being able to withstand the tough times. And this group has proven they can even in this negative Twitter world we live in.
To follow Rich on Twitter, click here.
Highlights
Video: Granderson smacks an RBI single against the Brewers
Video: Cespedes rips an RBI double in the top of the eighth
Video: Alejandro De Aza gets an RBI on a fielder's choice
News and notes…
- The Mets finished their 10-game road trip 5-5. They scored 25 runs (five per game) in the five wins and nine (1.8 per game) in their five losses.
- Granderson finished the three-game series 7-for-17 with one double, one triple, two home runs and three RBIs.
- Matz has surrendered 10 runs - seven earned - in his last three starts spanning 16 2/3 innings. He allowed just six runs in 40 frames during his seven-game winning streak.
- Terry Collins was taken to the hospital prior to the game after feeling ill. He was scheduled to undergo tests but he is expected to be fine.
- Logan Verrett was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas and Erik Goeddel, who posted a 2.43 ERA in 35 games with the Mets last year, was recalled. He pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday.
- Neil Walker and Michael Conforto were both held out of the lineup. Walker left Saturday's game with lower back soreness and Conforto is dealing with a sore wrist. Although Walker's return is unknown, Conforto is expected back in the lineup on Tuesday. He pinch-hit in the ninth and struck out, leaving him 5-for-52 (.096) since May 24.
Quotes…
- Bench coach and acting manager Dick Scott on the Mets' sloppy loss: "The guys are human…But on the other side of that, the guys are very professional. As you saw, after early in the game, we could have just phoned the rest of the game in. But they continued to play. We had the tying run at the plate."
- Scott on the road trip: "Ten-day road trips are hard. Our guys get tired at the end I'm sure everybody in the league gets tired. We'll take a 5-5. We had a chance to do a little bit better, but I think all in all, we'll take it."
- Scott on Matz's outing: "He competed [Sunday], he didn't have a lot of help behind him at times, but he competes well, he got us through six innings. We're a little tight in the bullpen and all of our guys, they all compete, so they all give us a chance to win. He didn't have his best stuff, but I thought he gave us a chance to win."
- Matz on his performance: "The biggest thing was I wasn't making a pitch when I had to. …It happens. I make a bad pitch sometimes and defense will help me. I hurt myself there throwing the ball away, it's just part of the game. I've got to make better pitches, really."
What's next…
The Mets (34-28) will have Monday off before starting a eight-game homestand against the Pirates (32-30) at Citi Field on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET on SNY. Jacob deGrom (3-1, 2.80 ERA) will look to end a seven-start winless streak that dates back to April 30. He will face Pittsburgh's Juan Nicasio (5-5, 5.34 ERA) in a rematch from last week.
