Mets bullpen blows four-run lead before comeback falls short in 8-7 loss to Giants

The Mets got six solid innings from Christian Scott and home runs from J.D. Martinez, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso, but the bullpen let a four-run lead slip in the eighth inning and a ninth-inning comeback fell short in a 8-7 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at Citi Field.

New York, homering three times in a game for the third consecutive game, dropped their fourth straight to fall to 21-28 on the year. San Francisco became the first team since the 1932 St. Louis Cardinals to win after being down four runs in three straight road games, improving to 26-26.

Here are the takeaways…

- Scott, making his second Citi Field start, worked a 1-2-3 first on six pitches and retired the next two in the second with no issue until Jorge Soler got a hanging 2-2 sweeper in the middle of the plate and drove it just over the wall in center field (103.2 mph off the bat, 411 feet).

Marco Luciano started off the third by lining a Scott fastball off the end of the bat to right field where Starling Marte misplayed the bounce and after the ball caromed off the short wall, it skipped past him for a triple. A Luis Matos RBI groundout put the Giants ahead 2-1.

But that was all the visitors managed to get off Scott who retired the last 12 batters he faced. Scott, who entered with 17 strikeouts in his first three starts, did not have a K through the first four innings and quickly made up for lost time by striking out the side in the fifth.

The 24-year-old held the Giants' top five hitters in their lineup to 0-for-13 with an RBI ground out and a strikeout. His final line: 6.0 innings, two runs, two hits, a walk and four strikeouts on 94 pitches (54 strikes) lowering his ERA to 3.97.

- With the Mets up 6-2, it was Reed Garrett’s turn to hold the lead in the eighth. But he ran into some hard luck to start, allowing back-to-back singles, first on a cue shot off the third base bag for a Mike Yastrzemski single (47.8 mph off the bat) and then a bloop single to shallow right from Luciano (73.2 mph). After getting two outs, Thairo Estrada roped a flat slider over the heart of the plate for a double to the gap in right to make it 6-3 and put the tying run at the plate before Garrett walked Matt Chapman to load the bases.

Carlos Mendoza elected to stick with Garrett despite having Adam Ottavino warming in the bullpen. And after falling behind 2-0, Garrett served up Bailey a 97.2 mph fastball down and over the center of the plate for a 420-feet grand slam into the visitor's bullpen to give the Giants a 7-6 lead.

- Jorge Lopez got the top half of the ninth and with one out Yastrzemski didn’t miss a hanging knuckle curve, driving it 397 feet to the second deck in right.

After Scott kept them quiet, the top of the Giants' order hit up the bullpen for three hits, a walk and five RBI.

- In the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter DJ Stewart doubled to right thanks to Yastrzemski misplaying the ball near the wall. Pinch-hitter Brett Baty made a bid for a single, but Estrada made a diving stop by at second for the first out.

Francisco Lindor followed with a single that he rocketed off the wall in right to plate Stewart. Alonso hit what should have been a game-ended 6-4-3 double play, but Luciano booted it to put runners at the corners. After pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor stole second without a throw Brandon Nimmo was intentionally walked to load the bases. But J.D. Martinez struck out swinging on a 102 mph fastball just off the outside corner.

And Vientos, after being ahead in the count 3-0, hit a slow roller to third that Chapman made an outstanding play on, bare handing the ball and making a running throw that was scooped delicately to get him by a half-step to end the game.

- Edwin Diaz, with the trumpets sounding, entered with the Mets ahead 5-2 in the top of the seventh inning. After striking out Chapman on a slider off the plate, Baliey dumped a single to right. But Diaz got Soler to fly out to the warning track in right and blew a high 98.9 mph fastball past Heliot Ramos to end the frame.

- In the first, Lindor greeted Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison by yanking a double into the left-field corner to start the home half of the first. He came around to score on an RBI single from Alonso smacked the opposite way, but the Mets could do no further damage.

Lindor, who entered Friday’s game with six hits in his last 18 at-bats, struck out in his second at-bat before shellacking a liner to the wall in left-center (102.6 mph, 396 feet) that Matos tracked down with a lunging, leaping grab to strand a runner. He finished 2-for-5 with two strikeouts and an RBI.

With one gone in the seventh, Alonso smoked a homer (106.1 mph, 396 feet) to left field en route to finishing the day going 2-for-5 with two RBI and a strikeout.

- Alosno’s was the final of three round-trippers of the game for the home team after the first came on back-to-back at-bats with two outs in the fifth inning first from Martinez on an absolute towering 424-foot no-doubter to the second deck in left field (109.3 mph) and Vientos' line drive to the opposite field into the bullpen (98.4 mph, 390 feet).

- Marte, who was seen flexing his right hand running after the ball on the Luciano triple in the third, stayed in the game. After the ball skipped past him, he began to stumble and when trying to brace himself, ended up landing on the back of his right wrist.

With Vientos aboard after a leadoff walk to start the fourth, Marte served a soft flare into right for a single and advanced to second on an error by right fielder Yastrzemski who misplayed the bounce.

Jeff McNeil lined a base hit up the middle to plate Vientos and Tomas Nido’s sacrifice fly put New York back on top.

- The Mets had another injury concern when Nimmo got hit off of the face guard by a 91.3 mph fastball. Nimmo got up and shook his head several times, but stayed in the game. He immediately stole second.

Highlights

MVP of the Game: Patrick Bailey

Scott retired the final 12 batters he faced, but Bailey's two-out eighth inning grand slam earns him these honors.

What's next

These two teams are right back in action again for a Saturday, 1:40 p.m. matinee first pitch.

RHP Luis Severino (2-2, 3.48 ERA) gets the call for the home team and he will face off against righty Jordan Hicks (4-1, 2.38 ERA)