How is it possible that Mets starting pitchers are getting worse?
New York’s arms continue a collapse of epic proportions, and on Wednesday night in an 11-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves, it was their most reliable guy who blew it.
All-Star southpaw David Peterson, the only Mets starter to complete at least six innings in an appearance in their last 53 games,
Gifted a 6-0 lead, Peterson walked four batters in the fourth inning, including two to load the bases and another to Nick Allen to score the Braves’ opening run. Jurickson Profar doubled to clear the bases and cut New York’s lead to two, and a walk to Matt Olson spelled the end of Peterson’s night.
Another dud from a starting pitcher: 3.1 innings pitched, five walks, five hits, five strikeouts, and six earned runs after Marcell Ozuna singled off reliever Reed Garrett and Michael Harris hit a grand slam to cap off a nine-run frame.
With it, the Mets’ starting rotation went an entire turn in which a starter did not even complete five innings, let alone the six that has eluded them for two months.
“It’s frustrating,” Peterson said. “We’re not holding up our end, and we need to do better. That starts with analyzing the performance and turning the page to the next one.”
But the Mets are running out of space to start a new chapter. There are 42 games left in the season, and this extended slump has seen them fall five games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East lead. Meanwhile, they hold the third and final NL Wild Card spot over the Cincinnati Reds by a single game entering Thursday night’s series finale against Atlanta.
Nothing indicates that the epidemic is going to slow down, either.
The injury-plagued Kodai Senga, who is still 7-4 with a 2.30 ahead of Thursday night’s start, completed five innings just once in his last five outings since returning from a hamstring injury on July 12.
Clay Holmes is running out of gas. The starter turned reliever is approaching double his previous career high in innings pitched, and the workload is taking its toll. He has a 5.45 ERA in his last eight starts.
Sean Manaea has been unable to put it together since making his season debut last month following an oblique injury. He has allowed nine runs on 13 hits in his last two outings (9.2 innings pitched).
“We have coaches looking at pretty much everything, trying to figure out how we can continue to help these guys, especially the guys from the rotation, because we know the talent is there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But we just haven’t been able to get much from them, especially the last time through.”
In an attempt to provide a spark, the Mets demoted Frankie Montas, who owned a 6.36 ERA in the first season of his two-year, $34 million contract, to the bullpen and are calling up top pitching prospect Nolan McLean to start Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners.
