Diamondbacks 3, Mets 2: Lineup Impotent Behind Dickey

I have no evidence to back this up, but it just seems like young pitchers with little big league experience always beat the Mets. Tonight's dominator was Barry Enright, a 24 year-old righty who had 15.2 MLB innings pitched entering the game. He posted a FIP-friendly line -- eight innings, five hits, one run, eight strikeouts, one walk -- and allowed just one extra base hit, a Josh Thole solo home run. Thole will reportedly be sent to the minors to make room for Oliver Perez. The Mets should cut Rod Barajas and give Thole a chance to play. R.A. Dickey appears to enjoy pitching to Thole, and the offensive upgrade over Barajas would be welcome.

Update: Per SNY, Justin Turner has been optioned to make room for Ollie. Thole will stick around. The Mets continue to pioneer the three catcher rotation, also known as "The New Moneyball".

Dickey gave up just three runs in seven innings but had a weak 3:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also induced a miniscule four swinging strikes. However, with some better defense behind him the results might have been even better. Carlos Beltran looked awful on a flyball hit by Gerardo Parra in the fourth inning, which would have been the third out but turned into an RBI triple. Pre-2010 Beltran or the current version of Angel Pagan probably would have tracked it down. Regardless, I'm prepared to give Voltron some more re-activation time in center before pushing for a move to right field. Enright then drove in Parra on an infield single, accounting for the decisive third run.

Jason Bay crapped the bed tonight. He went 0-3 with two strikeouts, a double play and a blown opportunity to put the Mets on the board in the first inning, with two outs and the bases loaded (he struck out). Ike Davis also struggled, going 0-4 with three ugly strikeouts of his own. Pagan smacked a solo home run leading off the ninth inning but David Wright, Beltran and Davis went down quietly into the Arizona night against the Diamondbacks' gas can bullpen.

The SNY technical difficulties at the start of the game foreshadowed things to come. Community member bjk3047 discovered the source of the problem:

The Braves beat the Padres while the Cardinals crushed the Phillies. This puts the Mets 6.5 games out in the NL East -- fading fast. D-Backs ace Dan Haren will be on the mound Wednesday night in the third and final game of this debacle series. Jon Niese goes for the good guys.

Poem by Howard Megdal

Thole and Pagan both go deep
But rest of Met offense continues to sleep
You'd have thought Mets faced Cy Young on this night
Or Big Train? Bob Gibson? No. Barry Enright

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* AZ Snakepit Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Angel Pagan +4.2, Jose Reyes +3.5%
Big losers: David Wright -15.2%, Jason Bay -14.1%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Angel Pagan solo homer +9.3%
Teh sux0rest play: Gerardo Parra RBI triple +11.5%
Total pitcher WPA: -1.9%
Total batter WPA: -48.1%
GWRBI!: Barry Enright, which is also the name of my accountant

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MookieTheCat; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.