BAT'S TOO BAD
Bassitt's return ruined as Amazin's struggle at plate
For the second time this week, a Mets pitcher returned from the injured list and delivered a strong start.
And for the second time, they were unable to turn it into a win.
A night after exploding for 10 runs, the Mets were held down by the Marlins, wasting Chris Bassitt’s quality outing in a 5-2 loss on Friday night at Citi Field.
Bassitt, making his first start in 13 days after testing positive for COVID-19, gave up two runs over 6 ¹/3 innings. He scattered six hits, three of them doubles by Bryan De La Cruz, and did not walk a batter while striking out three.
But as happened Tuesday, when Max Scherzer was dealt a no-decision despite throwing six shutout innings, Bassitt was not rewarded for his efforts as he left the game with a 2-1 deficit.
Aside from solo home runs by Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, the Mets (52-32) were unable to mount much offense against right-hander Pablo Lopez and the Marlins’ bullpen, while their own relievers allowed Miami (40-42) to tack on insurance runs late.
“That’s a good first outing for [Bassitt]. We just couldn’t score any runs,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge with their pitching staff. … We did a great job of setting the table, we just couldn’t get that big blow to put us over the hump.”
The Mets went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.
Drew Smith relieved Bassitt in the seventh inning and stranded an inherited runner. But in the eighth, he gave up a two-run homer to Garrett Cooper for the 4-1 Marlins lead, which looked worse when Lindor hit his solo homer in the bottom of the frame.
The Mets then proceeded to load the bases with two outs, but lefty reliever Steven Okert got Eduardo Escobar to fly out to end the threat. Escobar went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and left seven men on base Friday.
“I wish sometimes everybody could see his work day, the things that he’s doing,” Showalter said of Escobar, who homered in three straight games last weekend before cooling off again. “He covers all the bases. Sometimes, the other team doesn’t cooperate.”
The Marlins added a run in the ninth off Joely Rodriguez for further breathing room.
After Bassitt tossed an 11-pitch first inning, the Marlins got to him in the second to take the 1-0 lead. Jesus Aguilar led off with an infield single, Avisail Garcia roped a one-out single through the right side and De La Cruz followed with an RBI double over Mark Canha in left field.
Nimmo tied the score in the third inning when he took Lopez deep for a solo homer into the second deck in right field.
The Mets put runners on the corners with one out in the fourth inning, but Lopez shut down the scoring chance by striking out Escobar and Tomas Nido.
That came back to hurt when the Marlins regained the lead in the top of the fifth. De La Cruz led off with a double off the wall in rightcenter field and moved to third base on a single by Miguel Rojas. Bassitt got the first out of the inning on a groundout, but Joey Wendle came up next and hit a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Marlins a 2-1 advantage.
It was otherwise a strong night for Bassitt, who threw 99 pitches and showed little rust from his long layoff while facing the Marlins for a third straight start.
“I would just say fatigue [could be a challenge], but I did a lot of cardio, so that wasn’t really an issue,” Bassitt said. “I felt really good.”