The Mets got the offense revved up in the second inning on Friday afternoon in Chicago, but it didn’t matter very much since Kodai Senga was a flaming tire fire for the second time in a row. The Japanese right-hander was one strike away from escaping a jam in the bottom of the first, but then Seiya Suzuki dropped an RBI single into right field and Cubs phenom Moises Ballesteros followed up with a three-run opposite taco. The Mets, who have had trouble scoring more than two runs in a game during this long losing streak were down 4-0 out of the gate.
Even before I could say “it’s over,” the Mets surprisingly battled back against Chicago starter Edward Cabrera. MJ Melendez continued his hot hitting with a scorching line drive single to put two runners on base for Marcus Semien, who ripped a double into the gap to get the Mets on the board. After Brett Baty continued his monster slump with a strikeout, Tyrone Taylor ripped a line drive off the left-center field wall for what could have been a two-RBI double. However, Taylor had to settle for a single since he was thrown out by former Mets draft pick Pete Crow-Armstrong. On instant replay it looked like Taylor might have avoided the tag by Nico Hoerner, but Carlos Mendoza chose not to challenge the play and the rally fizzled out on Caron Benge’s fly out with the New York still down a run.
The momentum didn’t last long, as Senga gave up a two-run blast to Hoerner in the bottom of the inning to make the score 6-3. The Mets wouldn’t score again until the game was well out of hand in eighth inning. The game almost got interesting when the first three New York batters reached base, but then Melendez struck out and Mark Vientos grounded into a double play to doom the Mets to a 12-4 blowout loss.
Continue reading

