The Mets’ bats got lost in Detroit

The Mets lost 2-0 this afternoon, losing for the third time in 24 hours and getting swept by the lowly Detroit Tigers. The Mets have now lost nine of their last 11 games.

The story of the day was supposed to be the Mets debut of Justin Verlander, but the enthusiasm for Verlander’s debut deflated rather quickly when he gave up back to back home runs to Riley Greene and Javier Baez in the bottom of the first inning. While he settled down after that, the damage was done. Overall, Verlander went five innings, giving up two runs, five hits, and one walk and while notching five strikeouts.

Eduardo Rodriguez started for the Tigers, and kept the Mets in check all day. The Mets collected just two hits and one walk against him over eight innings. Not only did Rodriguez control the strike zone, but he got a fair amount of help from home plate umpire Adam Beck, who seemed to anger a Met every inning with an inconsistent - and frequently anti-Met - strike zone.

All told, the Mets’ pitching was good today, with scoreless innings from Jeff Brigham, Drew Smith, and newest Met Dominic Leone to bolster the four scoreless that Verlander put up after the first inning homers. But the offense, the part of the team that had been rolling despite bad pitching for much of the season, went silent after yesterday’s game one loss. The Mets accounted for just one run over 18 innings of baseball against a team that, on paper, the Mets should have been able to beat.

The Mets got a man on in the top of the ninth when Brandon Nimmo singled to left field. However, a truly boneheaded attempt at a stolen base by Nimmo killed the rally before it really began. Woof.

With this loss, the Mets drop to .500 on the season and fall to third place in the National League East, behind both the Braves and the Marlins. Yes, you read that correctly.

Kodai Senga starts tomorrow for the Mets when they start a brief, three-game home stand against the Colorado Rockies. It has to be better than this - right?

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: You really think there was a winner?

Big Mets loser: Jeff McNeil, -9.6% WPA

Mets pitchers: +2.6% WPA

Mets hitters: -52.6% WPA

Teh aw3s0mest play: Brandon Nimmo’s soon to be erased on terrible baserunning single to left, +9.5% WPA

Teh sux0rest play: Riley Greene’s first inning home run, -10.7% WPA