Mets vs. Diamondbacks Recap: The power of Rene Rivera wasn’t enough

The Mets dropped their sixth straight game last night, falling to the Diamondbacks 5-4 at Chase Field. This team has been streaky all year, and are currently in the midst of another extended downturn. So, the Mets turned to their natural slump-buster, Tommy Milone, to attempt to end this skid where it stood.

That didn’t exactly go so well.

Milone was about what you’d expect from a pitcher claimed off waivers in May. He pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs, walking three, and striking out four. Unlike his first start as a Met, he was facing a team with some offensive prowess, and that came back to bite him, as it tends to do. The big blow was Yasmany Tomas’s fifth straight game with a home run against the Mets. Maybe don’t pitch to him today, Terry?

Zach Greinke started for the Diamondbacks and did not have his best stuff. He walked in a run in the top of the second inning, and gave up home runs to both Curtis Granderson and Rene Rivera in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively. He still struck out eight, and was able to work out of the bases loaded, one out jam in the second with only one run coming in.

If there is a silver lining to this game, it is that the Mets bullpen did something it hasn’t done in what feels like forever: it looked good. Paul Sewald went an inning and a third and didn’t allow a base runner while striking out three. Fernando Salas made things a little interesting by giving up a walk and a hit, but was bailed out by Jerry Blevins, who made his 23rd appearance of the year.

Fernando Rodney closed the game for the D-backs, striking out Granderson and allowing us East Coast fans to head to bed. The Mets have now lost two series in a row, and are on the verge of being swept for both of them. The Mets send Matt Harvey to the mound today to, hopefully, avoid that fate, where he will face off against Patrick Corbin for the Snakes.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Rene Rivera, +10.4% WPA, Curtis Granderson +8.8%, Wilmer Flores +6.5%

Big losers: Tommy Milone -24.3% WPA, Michael Conforto -13.3% WPA, Jose Reyes -10.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Rene Rivera’s two-run homer in the seventh, +15.9%.
Teh sux0rest play: Gregor Blanco’s two-run single in the third, -12.2%.
Total pitcher WPA: -15.6%
Total batter WPA: -34.4%
GWRBI!: Yasmany Tomas, of course