The New York Mets have lost 9 of their last 11 games, and now they find themselves at the .500 mark at a level 16 – 16 for the season. Having scored one run over the last 22 innings, the Mets’ offense has simply been asleep at the wheel despite the returns of both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer to the pitching rotation.
Mets Swept in Detroit, 2 – 9 Record Last 11
Verlander made his season debut on Thursday afternoon in Detroit heavily favored at -180 expected to salvage one game in the series, at least. Verlander pitched 5 innings, struck out 5 batters, and only allowed one free pass in his first outing of 2023, but the 1st inning proved to be the difference-maker, as well as a monstrous effort from Eduardo Rodriguez.
Verlander gave up back-to-back home runs in the top of the 1st inning, and the game ended 2 – 0 so that about tells that story in a nutshell. It isn’t too touch to review a game that saw two bombs in the opening frame and neither team scored a run the rest of the day.
Max Scherzer’s debut on Wednesday was a complete train wreck, as he didn’t even escape the 4th inning before Buck Showalter had to toss out the hook! After 6 earned runs and a loss to his former team, Scherzer probably broke a few items back in the locker room and is undoubtedly not in a good mood, to say the least.
The Mets were, of course, hoping the return of Verlander and Scherzer would provide a spark to the dynamic, but now there are more questions than answers.
Eduardo Rodriguez held the Mets to only a pair of hits, striking out 9 while hurling a season-high 102 pitches picking up the win to finalize the sweep of New York.
The Mets will have Friday off before returning home to face the Rockies, ironic things are as rocky for the Mets as they have been this entire season. Brandon Nimmo pulled a complete brain-fart in the 9th inning on Thursday, getting thrown out trying to steal second base down 2 runs, his run basically being insignificant without a rally behind him.
Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen pretty much ripped Nimmo apart in the booth for the stupid chance that killed any momentum when the Mets had none to speak to that point.
How do the Mets Regroup After Sweep by the Tigers?
Well, the plane ride back from Detroit will likely be a somber trip now that the Mets are back to .500 and losers of 9 of their last 11 outings.
Hope is in sight on Friday as the Mets will dawn the black jerseys and welcome Austin Gomber to town. The Rockies starter got off to a rough start but it does seem that maybe he is getting a little more comfortable on the mound lately. Through his first four starts, Gomber was lit up time and again, giving up at least 1 HR in each appearance while allowing 22 earned runs.
Since then, Gomber has made two decent efforts limiting Cleveland to only 3 hits without an earned run against him while following that up with a 6-inning effort against the Diamondbacks with only 1 ER on his ledger.
With the way the middle-of-the-pack Mets offense looks right now, those numbers are starting to trend in the wrong direction, so it will be interesting to see how Gomber navigates a struggling Mets lineup on Friday night at Citi Field.
Tylor Megill is slated to start the 3-game home stand on Friday, as the team will head to Cincinnati on Monday. My weekend wrap-up and preview coming this Sunday will go over this past week and I’ll walk you through the Reds and Nationals series’ slated for the 7 games that make up next week’s schedule.
