Final Score: Royals 4, Mets 1—Royal Pains

The Mets failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities early and could not give Noah Syndergaard the run support he needed in tonight’s loss to the Royals. The Mets had a runner in scoring position with less than two outs in both the first and second innings, but did not score in either frame. The second inning ended with the Mets running themselves into a double play on the base paths when J.D. Davis misread a fly ball off the bat of Ruben Tejada and was doubled off second base.

The Mets struck first in the third thanks to an error and two singles. However, another double play—this time off the bat of Todd Frazier—killed the Mets’ chances for a big inning.

Meanwhile, Noah Syndergaard looked sharp early, needing just 25 pitches to get through the first three innings. However, he showed signs of fatigue in the fifth and sixth. The Royals took the lead in the fifth on three straight one-out hits. Syndergaard got into trouble again in the sixth, but struck out two batters to escape the jam and keep the Mets within a run.

However, the Mets were unable to mount any sort of rally against the Royals bullpen and Brad Brach and Edwin Diaz melted down in the eighth inning, resulting in two more Royals runs. It was very nearly even worse, but what would have been a grand slam by Ryan O’Hearn was found to be a foul ball upon replay review. The Mets loaded the bases against closer Ian Kennedy in the ninth, but he was able to escape the inning unscathed to secure the victory for the Royals.

Full recap to follow.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

1. MetsFan4Decades: 127
2. JR and the Off-Balance Shots: 97
3. Kepler: 89
4. MookiesTheMan: 73
5. stickguy: 69
6. amazins8669: 58
7. deegie: 57
8. YuretRastin: 56
9. Mozballs: 54
10. The Glider: 53