Max Scherzer diagnoses what went wrong after being haunted by home runs against Red Sox

BOSTON — Max Scherzer swiveled around and muttered something under his breath.

The disgust came as a fastball rocketed off the bat of Triston Casas and nestled about four rows up into the bleachers in straightaway center field in the sixth inning, breaking up a tie game.

The Mets co-ace had to spin off the mound and brace himself on several occasions during Saturday night's game against the Red Sox. Scherzer gave up five earned runs and four home runs as the Mets dropped an 8-6 result in front of 36,505 fans at Fenway Park.

Scherzer's rocky outing came after he allowed one hit across seven innings in his last start against the Dodgers on July 16 at Citi Field. The loss moved him to 8-4 on the season as his ERA grew to 4.20.

"The game always finds a way to surprise you and punch you in the face," Scherzer said. "You just gotta find a way to adapt to it, make changes and go out there next time and make quality pitches. That's the only thing you can do at this level."

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The loss dropped the Mets to 46-52 on the season and seven games back in the NL Wild Card. They have been treading water since the All-Star break, posting a 4-4 record. Following a 5-4 afternoon victory, the Mets have a chance to grab their second straight series win on Sunday night.

Max Scherzer lacks execution

While Scherzer has struggled with his slider command this season, the Red Sox were able to capitalize on a mistake with four different pitches in his arsenal.

Casas collected a pair of home runs off Scherzer. The first was a solo shot off a hanging cutter in the bottom of the second inning. The second in the bottom of the sixth inning was a two-run shot on a low, inside fastball to put the Red Sox ahead 5-3.

"I left pitches in his wheelhouse," Scherzer said. "I'd like to face him more. I'd like to get more at-bats against him, but tonight, I left pitches down and in for him to be able to handle.

Jarren Duran led off the bottom of first with a solo shot of the Pesky Pole in right field on a curveball. Yu Chang capitalized on a hanging slider. Scherzer said he wanted the curveball a tick lower against Duran, but he was close to executing exactly what he wanted.

Against Chang, Scherzersaid he didn't have a good grip on the slider. He felt he should have reset.

It was the fifth time in Scherzer's career that he has given up four home runs and first time during the regular season since April 6, 2021.

"This is Major League Baseball, you've got to be taking ownership of what you do," Scherzer said. "When they're blasting you, you've got to be able to diagnose yourself and be able to make better pitches. I've just got to make better pitches."

Scherzer has now given up 22 home runs in 17 starts this season. He gave up 13 home runs all of last season before the Padres tagged him for four in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card series.

Trevor Gott's struggles continue

The Mets front office brought over Trevor Gott in a trade with the Mariners on July 3 to try and bring some stability to a faulty middle of the bullpen.

Gott started strong with three scoreless innings in his first three outings but has tumbled since the team's series against the Dodgers.

The right-hander's latest struggle came on Saturday as he began with a strikeout of Chang but then issued a walk to Duran and an RBI single to Masataka Yoshida. Then, he hung a cutter to Justin Turner, who promptly lofted a two-run home run off the light post on the Green Monster.

"Some counts getting away from him — he's better than that," Showalter said. "Sometimes things kind of snowball a little bit away from what you're capable of and the norm and what you've done for a period of time. We've got to figure that out and get him back on track of what he's capable of doing."

In his seven outings with the Mets, Gott has worked 4⅔ innings with six earned runs allowed (11.57 ERA) on eight hits and two walks.

Pete Alonso looking to turn a corner

Pete Alonso's home run drought might have extended to 11 games on Saturday, but in his final at-bat, he hit a line drive that would have exited 25 out of the 30 ballpark in MLB.

Only problem? This shot found the center field triangle, glancing off the wall and past a leaping Duran. Alonso slid headfirst into third with his second triple of the season.

"I was thinking before his last at-bat, he's so close to putting together two really good games," Showalter said. "That's a home run in how many ballparks? It's good to see Pete's last couple of games, he's more like the level that he's spoiled us with."

In the first two games of the series, Alonso is 4-for-8 with two doubles, a triple and three runs. It was the first time that Alonso has had back-to-back multi-hit games since May 27 and May 28.

Alonso's triple kicked off a three-run ninth inning rally which included RBI singles from Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos and Brett Baty.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Max Scherzer haunted by home runs in loss to Red Sox