Mets fall to Marlins as pitchers’ duel goes south

It was a pitchers’ duel until it wasn’t. Chris Bassitt and Sandy Alcantara traded zeroes through five-and-a-half innings, and it was Alcantara who cracked first when he gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth. His pitch count, however, was much lower than Bassitt’s.

Unfortunately, Bassitt got into big trouble in the top of the seventh, giving up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases, having recorded just one out. Ball four of that walk was his 109th pitch of the day, and Buck Showalter turned to Seth Lugo to try to get the Mets out of the jam. He did not.

After struggling to throw strikes early in the at-bat, Lugo served up a grand slam to Jerar Encarnacion, giving the Marlins a lead they did not relinquish. And he gave up another run later in the inning—the Marlins’ fifth of the game—on a Jon Berti double.

The Mets did reply to that big inning from the Marlins with a run on an RBI single by Luis Guillorme in the bottom of the seventh, but the Marlins managed an unearned run against recently-recalled Tommy Hunter in the top of the ninth. The Mets got a couple of baserunners in the bottom of the the ninth, but none scored.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Chris Bassitt, +13.8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Seth Lugo, -45.9% WPA
Mets pitchers: -32.2% WPA
Mets hitters: -17.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Lindor singles in a run in the sixth, +17.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jerar Encarnacion hits a grand slam in the seventh, -41.8% WPA