Mets takeaways from Monday's 4-3 loss to Rangers, including wasting Tylor Megill's gem
The Mets were defeated by the Texas Rangers 4-3 in the series opener on Monday night at Citi Field.
Here are some takeaways...
- Tylor Megill took the ball for the Mets and was able to bounce back after putting together a shaky performance against the Braves his last time out. The righty got off to a good start early on in this one, striking out three over two scoreless innings. He picked up another K in the third and was helped out by his defense, as Rafael Ortega made a pair of nifty sliding catches in left field.
- After his strong start, the Mets handed Megill a lead to work with. Brandon Nimmo jumped on a fastball and crushed a two-run home run to deep right in the third, snapping a brutal 0-for-21 stretch. Two innings later, DJ Stewart smacked a solo home run into the Rangers bullpen, giving him seven on the season. Six of those long balls have come over his last 15 games to go along with a stellar 1.115 OPS.
- Megill kept cruising and responded with a shutdown inning each time the Mets scored, sandwiching another zero in between in the fifth. He ran into some trouble in the sixth, as back-to-back hits leading off the inning put two on with no one out. The righty rolled a double play ball and almost worked out of the inning, but an Adolis Garcia double brought home Texas' first run of the game.
Megill rebounded to strikeout Robbie Grossman on a 96 mph fastball, ending his night on a high note. He allowed just the one run on five hits while walking one and striking out a season-high eight in the no-decision.
- Sean Reid-Foley entered behind him and continued his strong return to the big-league club with a perfect seventh inning. He's now put together 3.1 scoreless innings since being recalled from Triple-A.
- Brooks Raley ran into some trouble in the eighth, though, as a walk followed by a double put two on with just one out. After Sam Coonrod entered and issued a walk to load the bases, Texas added another run on a fielders choice. The hard-throwing righty was able to get J.P. Martinez to fly out, though, keeping the one-run lead heading to the ninth.
- With Adam Ottavino unavailable after pitching the past two days, Buck Showalter turned to Trevor Gott to close the door, and he also struggled. He put himself in an immediate hole, allowing the first two batters to reach on a single and double. After rebounding to strikeout the next two batters, the Mets decided to intentionally walk Seager to load the bases.
Gott fell behind Nathaniel Lowe 2-1 and the lefty lined a two-run single to right, putting the Rangers ahead for the first time in the game. The righty now has five blown saves on the year and a 9.53 ERA and 2.12 WHIP over his last seven appearances.
- Francisco Alvarez came off the bench and drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, but the Mets' offense otherwise went down quietly as they dropped the series opener of this three-game set in frustrating fashion.
- Francisco Lindor finished 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, bringing his hitting streak to an end at 13 games. Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso were also held hitless, going a combined 0-for-7 on the night.
- Ortega, who had the walk-off hit on Sunday, enjoyed another nice night at the ballpark. He played some stellar defense in left field, had a hit, and picked up his fifth stolen base of the season.
Highlights
Upcoming schedule
The Mets and Rangers continue their three-game series on Tuesday night at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
LHP Jose Quintana (1-5, 3.73 ERA) will pitch for New York, opposed by fellow LHP Andrew Heaney (9-6, 4.34 ERA).
