While Ryan Helsley was electric Friday night in his debut inning as a Met and David Peterson offered his usual terrific stuff in six good innings, the bitter aftertaste from Giants 4, Mets 3 at Citi Field was a pre-deadline woe that the Mets must work out.
Their offense.
Yes, the Mets made a nice comeback, scoring once in the seventh and twice in the eighth to erase a 3-0 deficit. The Fab Four did all of that work, too, driving in or scoring every run. And Pete Alonso moved closer to the franchise home run record by swatting his 249th career longball, three shy of Darryl Strawberry.
But the Mets, who entered the game with a below-average offense in terms of runs per game, were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They struggled against Giants lefty Robbie Ray, who allowed one run in seven innings. The Mets loaded the bases in the 10th inning, thanks in part to the automatic runner, but were 0-for-3 with RISP in that frame alone. The game ended when Ronny Mauricio struck out with the potential tying run on third and the potential winning run on second.
The result was their fourth straight loss, one that perhaps muted some of the warm feelings percolating after what appeared to be a terrific trade deadline. The Mets netted three big relief arms, including Helsley, and solidified their bullpen, which had loomed as a danger zone.
Now the big bats must fix the attack. The top of the order – the Fab Four – did the heavy lifting Friday, but Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Alonso still combined to go just 3-for-15. Alonso had been 0-for-19 before his homer and had been stuck in a 5-for-60 funk entering the night. Lindor’s numbers are plummeting and Soto was coming off a 3-for-19 road trip.
Perhaps new outfielder Cedric Mullins, who popped up as a pinch-hitter, can jolt things with his power and speed.
Maybe Friday is a sign Alonso is getting untracked. In addition to his 23rd homer, a 414-foot shot to right-center, he had a sacrifice fly and his 10th-inning walk against closer Randy Rodriguez seemed to impress Carlos Mendoza, who praised Alonso for laying off a tough 3-2 breaking pitch to work a walk in the 10th.
“There were some good signs from Pete,” the manager said.
And if you want to feel good about something else, Helsley, the newcomer who had the most impact on the game, was impressive. He came into the game to AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells,” which the crowd loved, and threw a scoreless ninth inning, though he allowed two hits. He struck out the other three batters he faced, though, and coaxed several weak swings from Giants’ hitters with his slider. He also hit 101 miles per hour on the radar gun.
“That’s a really, really good fastball,” Mendoza said. “But then you look at the breaking ball, the slider. He keeps hitters guessing – you’ve got to get ready for 100 and then, before you know it, he’s dropping that breaking ball right there. For strikes. For chase.
“It’s a pretty tough at-bat.”
So is Peterson, the only Met starter who delivers innings in bushels. He’s now at his single-season high of 127 innings pitched and he’s the only Met pitcher who has completed six innings in a game since June 7, when Clay Holmes did it.
Peterson, as MLB managers love to put it, gave the Mets a chance to win Friday night.
Time for their offense to start doing the same with a little more regularity.
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