DIAZ & BATS FAIL METS
Lineup struggles continue, Edwin gives up big run late in loss to Sox
The Mets hoped they would board their charter jet (bigger than usual to account for proper social distancing) to Atlanta in positive spirits Thursday night. But first on the agenda was trying to win a four- game series against the Red Sox.
The Mets of- fense, which has struggled to put up consistent hits, again failed to produce the clutch moment. And reliever Edwin Diaz struggled again, giving up a crucial run in the ninth inning when he hit a batter with the bases loaded.
“The big hit hasn't been there,” said Michael Conforto. “The execution too. We've had a couple of opportunities to even the score or take the lead and we just haven't done that. We have to be better at that.”
The lineup had plenty of opportunities to connect in the Mets' 4-2 loss to the Red Sox on Thursday night. The Mets went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position with nine men left on base and are now 3-4 heading into a six-game road trip.
The Mets' best opportunity to score came in the bottom of the eighth inning, when Pete Alonso was on third and Ryan Cordell, pinch-running for JD Davis, was on second after a stolen base. But Michael Conforto struck out swinging, part of an 0-for-3 night.
Next up, Yoenis Cespedes battled over an eight-pitch at-bat and drew a walk, which set up a bases-loaded situation for rookie Andres Gimenez.
Curiously, manager Luis Rojas didn't pinch hit for Gimenez, who ended up grounding out to end the inning. Gimenez went 2-for-4 with a go-ahead, RBI triple on Wednesday but even the young infielder looked back into the dugout from the ondeck circle to make sure he was really going to hit in that spot. Dominic Smith, who's 2for-7 with a home run and five RBI, was on the bench and went unused.
“With Gimenez coming to the plate there in that situation, we felt pretty good about the at-bat and he got into a pretty good count,” Rojas said. “We were going with him there. We trusted that he could deliver for us.”
Steven Matz didn't pitch as well as he did in his 2020 debut, coughing up three earned runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings. Christian Vazquez crushed two home runs off the southpaw. Still, the Mets trailed Boston by just one run when Matz exited in the sixth.
Drew Smith and Jeurys Familia combined for 2.2 perfect innings and four strikeouts. But Diaz allowed the Red Sox to score the insurance run in the ninth on the hit batsman. Diaz allowed a hit and two walks in just a third of an inning.
Still, Rojas knows the Met lineup could be doing a better job at key moments.
“We're just getting a little anxious in those situations,” Rojas said. “Good at-bats to create them, but once we get there we haven't been able to deliver those big hits to really score the runs that we should be scoring. We still have to keep zoning in to create those at-bats. We cannot change our approach and stay within ourselves.”