The Mets lose the series after Senga struggled most of the game.
The Mets needed to win today to avoid losing the series to the Marlins. The Marlins were starting Sandy Alcantara, who had struggled at the start of the season but had been looking better as of late. For the Mets, Kodai Senga was starting, and after a run of less-than-stellar appearances, needed to be better in the midst of the Mets playoff push.
It was another inauspicious start for Senga. A one-out walk followed by a single put runners on the corner, and a sacrifice fly by Otto Lopez drove in the Marlins’ first run of the game, though Senga was able to get out of the inning without another run scoring. The Mets went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Senga had a much better second, striking out the side, and Jeff McNeil got a double for the Mets first hit in the bottom of the inning but the offense was quiet otherwise.
It was a rougher inning for Senga in the third. After two ground outs, he allowed a double to Jakob Marsee and then gave up a two-run home run to Agustín Ramírez to put the Marlins up by three runs. In the bottom of the inning, Lindor singled then stole his 26th base of the year, but an excellent play by Joey Wiemer on a Juan Soto fly ball ended the inning and stranded Lindor at second.
The Marlins led off the fourth with a Liam Hicks double, and he was driven in on a Heriberto Hernández single for the Marlins’ fourth run of the game, though that was it for the Marlins that inning. The Mets went down in order once again in the bottom of the inning.
For a second inning in a row, the Marlins led off the fifth with a double, by Javier Sanoja. Xavier Edwards singled to drive him in, and Edwards reached second on a throwing error by Brett Baty. Senga was able to get two outs, but after walking Lopez he was pulled from the game and replaced by Brandon Waddell who was able to end the inning with a ground out. The Mets were yet again kept quiet in the bottom of the inning, with no one reaching base.
After a leadoff single, the Marlins went down in order in the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Soto hit a two-out single, then advanced to second after Alcantara disengaged a third time. Nimmo walked, then Soto stole third to put runners on the corners. But Alonso grounded into a force out to end the inning before Soto could come in to score.
Two one-out walks in the seventh spelled trouble for Waddell, but he got out of it without either runner advancing any further. The Mets had an eventful bottom of the seventh. McNeil singled then Mark Vientos was hit by a pitch. Some jawing between Vientos and Alcantara led to the benches clearing and warnings being issued. Brett Baty and Cedric Mullins both grounded into force outs, allowing McNeil to score as the Mets first run. Starling Marte came in to pinch hit for Hayden Senger, but he struck out to end the inning with the Mets still down four runs.
Waddell sent the Marlins down in order in the top of the eighth. Calvin Faucher replaced Alcantara in the bottom of the inning, and other than a two-out Brandon Nimmo double, he did his job well, keeping the Mets in check. Waddell gave up two one-out singles in the top of the ninth, but a double play ended the inning and Brandon Waddell’s day, with a tremendous 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Freddy Tarnok was tasked with the bottom of the ninth for the Marlins. A Mark Vientos one-out walk held the idea of a threat, but two more outs ended the game before anything could be made of the baserunner.
The Marlins won their first series at Citi Field since 2020, and the Mets lost another game due to their pitching issues. Senga’s woes since coming back from his injury continued, and the Mets lost another game they should’ve won during an important part of their playoff push. With the rosters expanding tomorrow, they can add someone who might be able to shore up their pitching staff a little bit going into the final stretch of the regular season.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Jeff McNeil, +4.8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Kodai Senga, -25.8% WPA
Mets pitchers: -22.7% WPA
Mets hitters: -27.3% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil’s double in the second inning, +4.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Agustín Ramírez’s two-run home run in the third inning, -18.2% WPA
Category: General Sports
