D-backs Come Up Small in Close Loss to the Mets
The Diamondbacks turned in a performance to forget as Ryne Nelson was shelled for six runs in 4 1/3 innings and the offense once again was unable to get the big hit in a 6-4 loss to the Mets.
"We didn't pitch well early on," said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "The lead was a little bit too big and we couldn't come back."
For Nelson there were some positive signs with the slider, as nine of the 20 (45%) he threw resulted in a called or swinging strike. However it wasn't enough to keep Mets hitters off his fastball, as they collected six hits and two home runs against his heater with much of the damage coming in the second and third time through the order. New York scored in each of the last three innings that Nelson started to take a 6-1 lead.
"It looked like he became a little bit more one dimensional late in the game" said Lovullo. "He was relying heavily on his fastball, and when you can't spot it up and make mistake to certain hitters they're going to make you pay for it. I thought early on it was a mixture of his fastball and slider that was getting him through some situations. You can't throw one pitch in this league, you have to be able to command more than that."
Arizona hitters received gifts from Mets pitchers, as they combined for seven walks and were hit twice. They had big opportunities to put up a big inning in the third, sixth, and eighth, but could not get that one big hit to make it happen. In each of those innings they scored and had multiple runners in scoring position with one out. In two of those opportunities, the D-backs hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. They finished the night going 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, something they couldn't afford on a day they didn't get great starting pitching.
The D-backs struck first in the third, as Ketel Marte tripled to the right-center gap after a leadoff walk by Geraldo Perdomo. They had a chance to tack on, but Walker flied out to shallow center on a 3-0 pitch and Alek Thomas struck out to end the inning.
In the sixth they plated a run on a fielder's choice RBI from Alek Thomas and eventually brought up the potential tying run at the plate. With José Herrera set to bat, Lovullo went to the bench. With left-hander Brooks Raley warming in the Mets bullpen, the D-backs manager sent Evan Longoria up to pinch hit. Longoria bounced into a 5-4-3 double play that ended the inning without any more runs scoring.
"I specifically was going after a reverse split matchup with Longoria" said Lovullo. "I felt good about that, thought we'd get some slug there, it didn't happen. He's done it a long time, and I felt like he was going to get us a point there, maybe get a sac fly."
They scored two more in the eighth off Sam Coonrod, who walked two, allowed a pair of singles, and hit a batter to get Arizona within one swing of the bat from taking the lead. Unfortunately that did not materialize as Corbin Carroll hit a hard ground ball off Mets closer Adam Ottavino right at third baseman Mark Vientos that started another inning-ending double play. The D-backs would not threaten again after that.
The loss drops the D-backs to 76-70 on the season, but their lead on the Wild Card still sits at one game at the time of this writing. They will have their ace, Zac Gallen (15-7, 3.31 ERA), take the mound tomorrow while being opposed by left-hander Joey Lucchesi (2-0, 3.54 ERA). First pitch at Citi Field will be around 4:10pm MST.
