The Mets tied a franchise record on Friday night – and not a good one.
The team allowed seven home runs in a 14-2 loss to the Pirates – the fifth time it’s happened in Mets history – as they dropped their third straight game.
Luis Severino was responsible for three of those home runs, which manager Carlos Mendoza credited the Pirates for a good strategy against the right-hander.
“They were aggressive from the first pitch of the game against Sevy,” Mendoza said. “They took the fastball away from him and did damage. When he tried to use his secondary [pitches], he went changeup and got away from slider/sweeper to give a different look. They were tough on him the whole game.”
Severino got through the first three innings with relative ease until he allowed two solo home runs in the fourth, which tied the game at 2. Severino allowed the lead Pirates to take the lead on a two-run home run to Bryan Reynolds in the fifth inning.
Severino said after the game that they got “too smart” about some of the pitch selection.
“First three innings we were trying sinkers outside [getting] groundball, fly ball. Tried to run a couple four seamers in and a changeup that found the barrel.”
The Mets right-hander left the game in the seventh after loading the bases with nobody out while Jake Diekman came in relief and allowed a grand slam to Reynolds.
Things only go worse in the eighth inning when Ty Adcock, whom Mendoza was trying to use to get through the game to save the bullpen, allowed three more home runs, including another grand slam, this time to Rowdy Tellez.
“Not pretty,” Mendoza said. “Trying to get three outs there. Trying to stay away from a position player. It was tough for Adcock. … We knew we were pushing Adcock. Forty-five [pitches] was the limit there. As soon as he got the second out, we weren’t going to push him further.”
After a red-hot month of June to put the Mets back in contention for the National League wild card, they have lost three straight and are back down to 3.5 games out of a wild-card spot.
“This is part of baseball,” Francisco Lindor said after the game. “A week ago, we were in a good wave, we played well in the first two games in DC…now we need to get out of this weave and find a good one. Still have a lot of games in front of us, gotta get on the winning side.”
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