Mets shut out in entire doubleheader, lose both games to Marlins

Having missed four days of scheduled games because a player and a coach tested positive for COVID-19 late last week, the good news for the Mets was that they had no additional positive tests and were cleared to resume playing games on Tuesday evening at Citi Field. But in two seven-inning games of a doubleheader, the lineup looked flat, to say the least, as it failed to score in either of the games. It was the first time the Mets were shut out in both games of a doubleheader since the mid-70s, and while there were four fewer innings in this doubleheader, it’s hard to imagine that giving the lineup more innings would have changed that outcome.

In the first game, which the Marlins won 4-0, Rick Porcello was bad, giving up four runs in three innings, his start cut short by an hour-long rain delay. He now has a 6.43 ERA through his first six starts as a Met, an unsurprising stat to anyone who had looked at his track record over the last several years. If there was a silver lining in the first game, it was that Corey Oswalt threw four scoreless innings after the rain delay.

In the second game—in which the Mets were visitors to make up for their game in Miami that was the first of the four postponed because of their COVID cases—Seth Lugo was brilliant is his first start in over two years, striking out five in three perfect innings before giving way to the Mets’ bullpen. Jared Hughes gave up a pair of runs in the fourth, and Jeurys Familia was on the mound as Jon Berti walked, stole second, stole third, and stole home, with everyone who witnessed the steal of home agreeing that it was “embarrassing.”

In total, the Mets had twelve hits across the doubleheader, but they went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. They had entered the evening with the worst average in baseball in those situations, and they only made it worse. It’s one of those things that would normally even out, at least somewhat, over the course of an 162-game season, but this season doesn’t grant anyone that luxury. The Mets are simply going to have to drive in runs—frequently and starting soon—if they are to make a push for a playoff spot this year.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue: Game 1, Game 2
Fish Stripes

Box scores

MLB.com: Game 1, Game 2
ESPN: Game 1, Game 2

Win Probability Added, Game 1

FanGraphs

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Michael Conforto, +4.6% WPA
Big Mets loser: Rick Porcello, -29.1% WPA
Mets pitchers: -25.9% WPA
Mets hitters: -24.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Wilson Ramos walks in the second, +4.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Miguel Rojas hits a two-run single in the second, -17.9% WPA

Win Probability Added, Game 2

FanGraphs

Big Mets winner: Seth Lugo, +17.8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jared Hughes, -27.5% WPA
Mets pitchers: -7.8% WPA
Mets hitters: -42.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil walks in the fourth, +7.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Brian Anderson hits a two-run double in the fourth, -18.7% WPA