Mets make it seven straight defeats with blowout loss to Pirates
Tylor Megill #38 of the Mets reacts as he walks back to the mound after giving up a two run RBI single to Ke'Bryan Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (not pictured) in the third inning during the game at PNC Park on June 9, 2023 in Pittsburgh,. Credit: Getty Images/Justin Berl
PITTSBURGH — For their seventh consecutive loss, the Mets swapped out the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching of days past for just plain embarrassing Friday night.
They got blown out by the Pirates, 14-7, after another messy start from Tylor Megill and a game-changing error by Francisco Lindor.
At 30-34, they are four games under .500 for the first time this season. This is their longest losing streak since June 2019, an infamously bad month that laid the groundwork for a managerial change after the season.
The Mets are at a loss about all these losses.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know,” Lindor said. “I want to say it’s part of the season. But I’ve been saying that way too long. It’s time to turn the page. It’s time to start to be better. We got to be better. It’s simple: We have to be better. I have to be better.”
Lindor was eminently apologetic about his fielding flub, saying the game “is on me.”
The Mets had just knotted the score at 2, via Lindor’s solo homer in the top of the third, when Lindor poured the gasoline and Megill dropped the match in the bottom of the inning.
With one out and a runner on first, Megill got a weak ground ball near second base from Carlos Santana, among the slower runners in the majors. It should have been an easy inning-ending double play. But Lindor muffed it, recording zero outs. The Pirates (33-29) wound up rallying for five runs.
“My mental error turned into a big inning. If that inning doesn’t happen, we probably would’ve won the game,” Lindor said. “I rushed the play. That’s been my errors this year — trying to finish the play without having the play in my glove. It’s unacceptable.”
Megill’s final line included nine runs (seven earned) in 3 2⁄3 innings.
Rich Hill, who at 43 is the oldest player in the majors, tossed 119 pitches in seven innings, allowing two runs.
The Mets scored an ugly five runs in the ninth to make the score marginally more respectable.
“I have a lot of confidence our guys will respond and play better,” manager Buck Showalter said. “But tonight was not one of those days.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
