Joey Lucchesi loses zone in fifth inning, Mets fall to Phillies, 10-5, in ugly effort
The Mets played a sloppy game in the rain against the Philadelphia Phillies and lost, 10-5, on Wednesday night.
Here are the takeaways...
-Fresh off of a four-hour UberXL ride from Syracuse to Philadelphia with fellow Triple-A call-up Mark Vientos, left-hander Joey Lucchesi was on the bump for New York getting the spot start after the Mets scratched Adrian Houser.
Lucchesi's night started out somewhat rough after he allowed a solo shot to Bryce Harper in the bottom of the first to tie the game at one, but after that he looked solid on the mound -- just as he had last season when called upon in a pinch. That changed in the fifth inning.
With his team up 2-1, the left-hander who had issued just one walk in four innings prior -- and looked sharp in the process -- totally lost the zone and walked the first two batters to face him in the inning. After a sacrifice bunt that was not handled properly by the Mets loaded the bases, Lucchesi walked in the tying run on a four-pitch walk to Kyle Schwarber.
With the bases still loaded and nobody out, JT Realmuto ambushed Lucchesi on the first pitch and drove a single to right field that scored another and gave Philadelphia the lead. Harper followed with a screaming two-run double that chased Lucchesi out of the game. The 30-year-old went 4.1 innings (the only out of the fifth came at home plate) and allowed five earned runs on five hits and four walks on 68 pitches (40 strikes). He struck out two.
-Before that implosion in the fifth inning, the Mets had a lead against Ranger Suarez who entered the game 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Vientos got it started in the first, wasting no time and lining an RBI double on the first pitch he saw since his call-up. He finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and is hitting .455 in 11 at-bats this year.
New York scored its second run in the third inning thanks to a wild pitch by Suarez that brought home Pete Alonso, who doubled and went to third on an error to lead off the frame. In prime position to tack on with Francisco Lindor at second base and nobody out against a somewhat flustered Suarez, the Mets couldn't muster another hit and settled for the one run, which came back to haunt them later in the game.
-After the Phillies were the ones who looked sloppy on the field to start the game, making two errors in the first three innings, the Mets finished the game no better, making errors and miscues all over the diamond. Officially, New York finished with two errors on the night, but overall the team did not play a crisp game as seven of the 10 runs scored were earned.
-Jeff McNeil made a throwing error on a play that he had more than enough time to get the slow-footed Schwarber out at first base for the final out of the sixth inning, but for some reason, he rushed the throw after making a nice diving play on the grounder up the middle.
In the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out, Houser got the ground ball he needed, but Lindor bobbled what would've been an easy inning-ending double play and everybody was safe with another run scoring. Vientos also made a few bad plays at third base that cost his team runs.
-The Phillies scored nine unanswered runs before New York broke through with three in the eighth off Spencer Turnbull, which included J.D. Martinez's second home run as a Met.
Game MVP: Bryce Harper
Harper went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored facing the lefty Lucchesi. His home run in the first inning was just his second off a left-hander this season.
Highlights
What's next
The Mets and Phillies close out their two-game series in Philadelphia on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
LHP Jose Quintana (1-4, 5.44 ERA) faces off against RHP Taijuan Walker (3-0, 4.82 ERA).
