No lead is ever safe for the Mets.
Not with the state of the pitching staff and not with the way the bats seem to run out of battery at any given moment. Tuesday night at Citi Field was no different. The Mets watched the Yankees come back from a 5-1 lead to overtake them 6-5 in the fourth inning with one of their vaunted aces on the hill.
The Mets ultimately lost the first game of the Subway Series, 7-6. It was their ninth loss in 10 tries. Each one stings a little differently, though the fans might say a Subway Series defeat at home in front of a sellout crowd stings more than others.
Neither starter made it to the sixth inning. Max Scherzer (six earned on seven hits, two strikeouts) was taken out in the fourth after a Jake Bauers blooper scored two to put the Yankees (39-29) on top.
Luis Guillorme tied the game at 6-6 with an RBI single off Luis Severino with two outs in the fifth to end the right-hander’s day. But the Mets failed to make a comeback with mental mistakes and unlucky bounces.
Right-hander Drew Smith was ejected trying to enter the game at the top of the seventh. His replacement, right-hander John Curtiss, was assessed a pitch clock violation before even throwing a pitch because of a malfunctioning PitchCom device.
Smith’s ejection looked as though it was because of a sticky substance on his right hand. He now faces a 10-game suspension, which would leave the bullpen a man short. He would become the second pitcher from the Mets (31-36) this season to receive a suspension for violating the sticky substance rules, with Scherzer being ejected April 19 in Los Angeles.
However, the unluckiest bounce for the home team came in the top of the sixth with one on and one out. Anthony Volpe sent a fly ball into the right-center gap. Brandon Nimmo tracked it down but couldn’t make the catch for an out with the ball going right off the center fielder’s glove.
The Mets went to the bullpen to replace left-hander Josh Walker (0-1). It was a tough break for Walker with Volpe’s ball being scored a double. Right-hander Jeff Brigham came in with runners on second and third and got pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson to fly out to right field, but the ball was plenty deep and former Mets outfielder Billy McKinney scored easily from third.
The Mets went down 1-0 in the first when Scherzer gave up a home run to Giancarlo Stanton. It was Stanton’s 38th against the Mets and his 24th at Citi Field. He’s homered against the Mets more than any other team in baseball and his 24 round-trippers are the most by an opposing player at Citi Field.
Nimmo retaliated with one of his own in the bottom of the first off Severino, and Brett Baty’s RBI single put the Mets up 2-1. The Amazins’ strung two more together in the second and scored another in the third. Severino (six runs, five earned on seven hits, three walks and four strikeouts) struggled. He balked twice in the second inning and Gleyber Torres did him no favors with an error in the third. But the damage could’ve been much worse had Mark Canha not grounded into a force with the bases loaded.
Only one run scored and Severino struck out Nimmo to end the inning.
The Mets loaded the bases again in the eighth with only one out, this time on Wandy Peralta. But the Yankees went to the bullpen and the move paid off. Clay Holmes struck out Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte.
Ron Marinaccio earned the win in relief (3-3) and Michael King converted his fourth save.
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