Mets offense sunk by the Fish in frustrating loss

The Mets suffered a frustrating loss to the Marlins by a score of 5-2 which can only be described as one of THOSE Marlins games. A combination of poor play, bad at-bats, and a shaky bullpen all added up to a terrible loss one day after an easy win.

The day after they scored 10 runs against Miami, the Mets offense was stymied by Pablo López. They actually did a good job of making him work but their rallies were quickly stalled. Eduardo Escobar was the main culprit who struck out with runners on in both the second and fourth innings. Then when the Marlins turned to their bullpen, and Don Mattingly tried to hand the Mets the game in the eighth, Escobar came up with the bases loaded and a pitcher on the ropes, but he hit a weak pop up to end the inning.

Back in the fourth inning and a rally to nowhere, the Marlins of course immediately scored in the top of the fifth. Every time the Mets tried to inch closer, the Marlins would immediately punch back so it seemed that the Mets were never really on the path to victory. Francisco Lindor did hit a home run in the eighth but the Marlins manufactured a run in the ninth to demoralize the Mets even further since they had a chance for a bigger inning that Escobar squandered.

The good news is that Chris Bassitt was sharp in his return from the COVID list and gave up just two runs in over six innings of work, one of which was due to a misplay by Mark Canha in left. He struck out three and looked strong in his return to the mound. Drew Smith, however, had his home run issues continue in relief and gave up a two-run shot to Garrett Cooper that was a crusher since Lindor’s home run would’ve otherwise tied the game.

The Mets certainly had their chances but ultimately they couldn’t get the job done as their weaknesses grow only more glaring as the Braves continue to breathe down their neck.

Box scores

ESPN
MLB

Win Probability Added

Fangraphs.com

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Mark Canha, +11.8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Eduardo Escobar, -32.5% WPA
Mets pitchers: -13.0% WPA
Mets hitters: -37.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brandon Nimmo home run in third
Teh sux0rest play: Bryan De La Cruz double in second

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