Jason Vargas and a rainstorm wash away a Mets’ win

Another Jason Vargas start, another Mets loss this time by a score of 6-1. He lasted only a third of an inning but the weather played a role in that.

This game probably should never have started on time considering there were bad thunderstorms in the area. Sure enough during the first inning, the heavens opened up and the game went into a delay. The Reds were probably disappointed by that turn of events since their offense had also opened up against Vargas.

Jose Peraza singled and stole second to start the inning. He moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on Scooter Gennett’s single. Eugenio Suarez hit a ground rule double that needed replay review, and the Reds were set up with second and third and one out. That is when the skies opened up and when play resumed over an hour and a half later, Paul Sewald entered the game. He allowed both runners to score to give Cincinnati an early 3-0 lead.

They extended their lead in the third off reliever Bobby Wahl when Phillip Ervin took him deep for a two-run home run.

As for the Mets, their offense struggled against local kid Sal Romano who had a large contingent of fans at the game. They managed just one run against him and it came in the second when Jose Bautista singled home Brandon Nimmo.

They had a rally in the fifth but both Jose Reyes and Amed Rosario couldn’t get the runners home. They started another one in the seventh when they got the first two batters on to start the inning. That led to Romano’s exit but the runners remained where they were against the Reds’ bullpen.

As for the Mets’ bullpen, both Tyler Bashlor and Drew Smith pitched two innings each and both didn’t allow a run. Jacob Rhame pitched a scoreless eighth but Dilson Herrera hit a solo shot in the ninth to put the Reds up 6-1.

Todd Frazier and Brandon Nimmo singled in the bottom of the inning, but Jose Bautista and Kevin Plawecki couldn’t bring them home. That was a recurring theme for the pair who combined to leave nine men on base.

Getting down early in the game and getting two-hit until the ninth inning is not a recipe for success, but at least a couple of arms out of the bullpen showed some promise for this team going forward.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: None
Big losers: Jason Vargas -18.1%, Bobby Wahl -12.%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jose Bautista single in second
Teh sux0rest play: Phillip Ervin home run in third
Total pitcher WPA: -29.2%
Total batter WPA: -20.8%
GWRBI!: Phillip Ervin