Mets' rally cut short, Rockies finish sweep with 4-3 win

DENVER (AP) For the second day in a row, the New York Mets found themselves on the wrong end of a questionable call against the Colorado Rockies.

''Move on,'' manager Terry Collins said.

His team was itching to do the same.

Yoenis Cespedes homered Sunday but the defending NL champions wasted a strong start by Jacob deGrom in a 4-3 loss to the Rockies, who completed a three-game sweep.

New York finished 4-7 on its NL West road trip. Two tough calls over the weekend made it feel even worse.

''It was a long trip, a terrible finish to it,'' Collins said. ''We'll pick up the pieces. We've got a long, long, long way to go.''

The Mets tried to rally in the eighth inning Sunday, but Juan Lagares was called for running out of the baseline on Lucas Duda's roller to third baseman Nolan Arenado. Colorado was awarded a double play that ended the inning.

Collins ran out and briefly pleaded his case to second base umpire Rob Drake, but the call stood.

It was the second straight game in which the Mets were upset by an umpire's decision at a key moment. During their loss Saturday, it was a foul-tip call instead of strike three that preceded a two-run double to break open a close game in Colorado's five-run third inning.

Collins was in no mood to talk about the latest one.

''Look, he made the call,'' the manager said. ''Doesn't matter what it's going to do. You don't challenge it. So it's over, let's go, move on.''

Earlier, the Mets took a 3-1 lead by scoring twice in the third inning on RBI singles by deGrom and Michael Conforto.

The right-hander allowed just three hits until Carlos Gonzalez homered with two outs in the sixth. DJ LeMahieu led off the seventh with a 12-pitch walk against deGrom, who left one out later.

Jim Henderson (0-2) came on and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn drove a 2-2 pitch into the Rockies' bullpen for a two-run homer and a 4-3 lead.

That took away a potential win from deGrom, who yielded three runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

''I still don't feel very comfortable on the mound. Front side still is not getting up where I want it to,'' deGrom said. ''But I kept us in the ballgame - that was my main goal.''

Tyler Chatwood (5-3) pitched seven solid innings for the Rockies, who swept New York for the first time since April 2013. Jake McGee worked the ninth for his 12th save.

The good news for the Mets? They have Monday off after playing 17 games in as many days.

''We knew the schedule going into it,'' second baseman Neil Walker said. ''We knew this was going to be a grind-it-out kind of road trip.

''We had opportunities, especially these last three days. There's definitely no excuses. We've got to play better across the board,'' he added.

NO PRESSURE

The Mets open a three-game series against NL East-leading Washington on Tuesday night at Citi Field. Collins said before Sunday's game that he is not putting too much emphasis on the first three of 19 games against the Nationals this season.

''Is it the biggest series of the year? It's yet to be determined,'' Collins said. ''It's the big leagues. It's supposed to be like this. When you play another good team and it's in your division and you're playing for something important, it's always fun.''

TRAINER'S ROOM

Collins said he is waiting to make any decision on pitcher Steven Matz until after the lefty sees a doctor about his sore elbow. Matz missed his scheduled start Saturday but could be back for this week's series against Washington. ''If they give him the OK, he could conceivably throw a little bit on Monday and pitch Thursday,'' Collins said. ''We'll just wait to see. Until I get the report from the doctor, we're going to let it hang out there.''

UP NEXT

Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard (3-2, 2.53 ERA) gets the nod for the opener against Washington on Tuesday. Syndergaard is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three career starts against the Nationals.