Mets Series Review Humiliation in Houston
The Mets June swoon kicked into overdrive as they were swept by the Houston Astros, beginning what will likely be a prolonged losing streak that will end with the Mets out of first place for the remainder of the season—especially facing Sandy Alcantara on Friday with the pitching rotation in shambles after losing Carlos Carrasco to a back injury.
It was clear that the Mets were cooked in the opener on Tuesday as Trevor Williams got the start, as the Mets pitching staff is now the weakest part of the team. Jose Urquidy made the start for Houston and frustrated the Mets all night. The Astros broke through in the third inning, scoring three runs on home runs from Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. After loading the bases with one out, the Mets had their chance to answer. However, Eduardo "Ezout" Escobar and J.D. Davis struck out feebly.
After four innings, the Mets removed Trevor Williams and put Chasen Shreve in the game, and that is when the game ended. Shreve has been trash the last month and turned the game into a dumpster fire, as he allowed four runs on three hits in the first inning. Down 7-0, the Mets got meaningless home runs from Pete Alonso and Escobar, but the game was out of reach as the Astros won 8-2.
The Astros completed the sweep on Wednesday, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning as Carlos Carrasco was the Danish Tin Cookie, giving up four runs before retiring a batter with Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez going back to back. Dom Smith had a double and scored on a sac-fly by Brandon Nimmo to get the Mets on the board. However, Alvarez homered again as Carrasco crumbled, exiting with a back injury.
The Mets bullpen kept them in the game as Yoan Lopez, Tommy Hunter, Joely Rodriguez, and Edwin Diaz allowed three hits while blanking Houston over the final five and two-thirds innings. The Mets scored two runs in the sixth, with Starling Marte hitting a double and Pete Alonso hitting a sac-fly. The Mets could have gotten more as they loaded the bases, but Ezout Escobar and Dom Smith failed as the Mets went down feebly, losing 5-3 as the tailspin has begun.
Next up is the Miami Marlins, where the Mets bruised and tattered rotation has to face Sandy Alcantara in a game that is 100% likely to lose as the Braves continue to cut the Mets deficit away as September 2007 has returned.