Mets’ bats nullify strong pitching performance in loss to Brewers

Already this season, the Mets lead the league in nonsense, showing no signs of relinquishing the crown they’ve seemingly worn in perpetuity. Just in the past month, a star pitcher partied too hard before no-showing for a game and a risqué prop in a clubhouse prank inadvertently wound up on social media.

The not-safe-for-work streak continued the night before Thursday afternoon’s 2-1 loss to the Brewers, when a Long Islander snapped a cellphone video of Mr. Met making an obscene gesture, a feat made even more impressive given that the franchise’s family-friendly symbol has only four fingers.

Yes, Matt Harvey’s latest melodrama, a lovable mascot’s one-finger salute and a staffer’s ill-timed tweet have made it easy to have a cheap laugh at the expense of the Mets. But all of it is mere noise compared to a pattern that has emerged, one that is far less side-splitting but far more consequential than any controversy du jour.

If the Mets (23-29) are to dig out of the hole they’ve created for themselves, they must show they can sustain momentum. Without that ability, any aspirations of returning to the playoffs would be too ambitious. They have fallen short of that standard. For every step forward, they have taken two back, a trend that showed itself when they settled for a series split with the Brewers.

“We’ve got a really good team here,” said pitcher Zack Wheeler, whose gritty performance got lost in a loss almost overshadowed by Mr. Met’s brush with infamy the previous night. “It’s been like that all season. We’ve been sort of streaky here and there. It’s a long season. We’ve still got a few months left and it’s still somewhat early.”

Little, however, has lined up for the Mets.

With a slim margin for error, they can’t afford to spoil a strong pitching performance. Wheeler bobbed and weaved through trouble, holding the Brewers to two runs in 6 1⁄3 innings. Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas blanked them the rest of the way, keeping the Mets within reach. But aside from an eighth-inning solo homer by Wilmer Flores, the Mets did not make a dent. Chase Anderson (4-1) tossed seven shutout innings.

The Mets followed a three-game winning streak by dropping two straight. So instead of taking three of four, they took a split at a time when they must do better.

“I think we can come around,” Wheeler said. “Once our starting pitchers really get rolling and our bats heat up, we’re one of the best teams in baseball.”

The Mets, of course, haven’t shown it enough. Their frustration boiled over in the fourth inning, when Terry Collins was ejected for arguing an overturned interference call.

Third baseman Flores got tangled up with a stool-wielding bat boy while he was about to squeeze Eric Sogard’s routine pop-up. Plate umpire Roberto Ortiz initially called interference, and per his discretion, ruled the play an out. But after the umpires conferred, crew chief Fieldin Culbreth overruled Ortiz, calling unintentional interference and a no- play.

“You can’t get mad at him,” Flores said of the bat boy. “He was trying to get out of the way but he went the wrong way.”

Wheeler got Sogard to hit into a double play, essentially making the play moot.

Nevertheless, Collins already had been tossed for the first time this season, forced to spend the rest of a frustrating day in his office.

On May 9, the Mets battled back from a skid to reach .500. But they haven’t gained any traction since, losing 13 of 20 games and falling 10 games behind the NL East-leading Nationals.

After overcoming Asdrubal Cabrera’s muffed pop-up Tuesday to win their third straight game, the Mets have mustered one run in each of their last two losses.

“It happens,” Flores said, trying to brush off the latest failure to seize momentum. “We’ll try to get a good streak going tomorrow.”