How Joey Lucchesi and Mark Vientos fared in Mets returns. And who's next in rotation?

PHILADELPHIA — For four hours on Wednesday morning, Mark Vientos and Joey Lucchesi made the trek south from Syracuse to Philadelphia in an Uber XL.

For the 24-year-old Vientos, it had been a little more than two weeks since he made a dramatic return with a walk-off home run over a weekend in Flushing. The 30-year-old Lucchesi, meanwhile, had not pitched in the major leagues since the end of last September.

"You learn a lot about a person when you’re in a car for so long," Vientos joked before Wednesday's game. "We talked about everything."

Less than 24 hours removed from being scratched in Triple-A Syracuse, the duo was filling in key spots for the Mets in a National League East matchup on the road. Mark Vientos provided a glimmer of a spark offensively, but Joey Lucchesi succumbed to one bad inning and shaky defense cost the Mets in a 10-5 loss to the Phillies in front of 37,219 fans on a cold, damp night at Citizens Bank Park.

Lucchesi suffered the defeat as the Mets dropped their third straight game to the Phillies, including a pair at Citi Field to begin the week. With a 19-23 record, the Mets are four games under .500 for the first time since the eighth game of the season.

"We're playing good teams, but it's one of those where one day it's the offense, we're just not clicking right now," Carlos Mendoza said. "The free bases, the extra bases, when you're playing good teams, they're going to make you pay for it."

Joey Lucchesi caves in fifth inning

Lucchesi joined the Mets after one of the most productive starts to the season in Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets optioned Jose Butto, Tuesday's starter who had issued four walks in a 4-0 loss, to make room.

Through four innings, Lucchesi, who had a 2.58 ERA in seven starts with Syracuse, looked effective. He made one mistake on a hanging sinker, which Bryce Harper belted over the left-field fence for a solo home run.

But after only allowing three hits and walk in four innings while throwing a economic 49 pitches, the bottom fell out in the fifth inning. Lucchesi walked the opening two batters then tried to throw out Edmundo Sosa at third base on a bunt near the mound. Sosa was safe and Lucchesi walked in the tying run with the bases loaded.

"They made some adjustments because early in the game, I feel like they were swinging at balls just outside of the strike zone," Mendoza said. "That inning they came in with a plan and they forced him in the zone and he lost it there."

In the next at-bat, J.T. Realmuto belted a first-pitch sinker for an RBI single to right field and Bryce Harper tagged an opposite-field two-run double to left-center field.

Just like that, Lucchesi's night was done.

"I tried to miss more inner thirds, and they were just putting good bat-to-ball on it and things kind of just got away from me," Lucchesi said.

The left-hander allowed five earned runs on five hits and four walks across 4⅓ innings as he exited with the Mets trailing 5-2. The Phillies ripped him for four runs on 19 pitches in the fifth inning.

It may have been Lucchesi's one shot to make an impression. Mendoza said that Tylor Megill is expected to return to the rotation on Sunday or Monday after being sidelined since early April with a shoulder strain.

Mark Vientos supplies offensive spark

The Mets leveraged their infield depth to bring Vientos back to the major leagues as a potential weapon against left-handed pitching.

The team designated utility infielder Joey Wendle for assignment, leaving Brett Baty to serve as an emergency infielder in the middle behind Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil.

"Whenever my name gets called, I’m ready for the opportunity," Vientos said before the game. "I’m trying to do my best for my teammates and the team, so that’s all I’m focused on."

Vientos showed off his own utility in the top of the fifth inning while batting in the fifth spot in the lineup. With a pair of runners on base, Vientos tagged an RBI single off Rangers southpaw Ranger Suarez - the reigning National League Pitcher of the Month - into left field to give the Mets an early 1-0 lead.

The Mets third baseman added a single and a run in the top of the eighth to finish 2-for-4 with an RBI. In his five games with the Mets this season, Vientos is 5-for-11 with one home run, two runs and three RBI.

In the field, Vientos recorded two outs. On a potential double play in the sixth inning, Vientos bobbled a ground ball and was only able to get one out as a run scored..

"I thought he was good. His at-bats were good," Mendoza said. "The ball that he dropped, he was able to recover and get an out. I thought he played a really good game."

Sloppy defense around the infield

The game spiraled away from the Mets in the sixth and seventh innings.

Grant Hartwig, who was called up earlier in the day to provide potential length, hit Bryson Stott to lead off the sixth and gave up a bloop single into right field. Pache's ground ball to third scored a run before a throwing error by McNeil after a diving stop allowed the Phillies to move ahead 7-2.

In the seventh inning after the Phillies loaded the bases against Adrian Houser, the ball slipped out of Lindor's hands to allow a run to score. Then, Pache hit a sacrifice fly and a slow roller down the third-base line helped the Phillies build their lead to 10-2.

"We didn't play a clean game today," Mendoza said. "It's going to happen at times. Understanding us as a coaching staff, our job is to continue to work with these guys and help them get through it, and we will."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Joey Lucchesi, Mark Vientos see mixed results in MLB return