Righthander Dellin Betances hasn't had a fully healthy season since...

Righthander Dellin Betances hasn't had a fully healthy season since 2018. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca

June ended for the Mets’ pitching staff with outfielder Albert Almora Jr. on the mound in a 20-2 loss to the Braves in Atlanta.

July will begin with Jacob deGrom on the mound in the series finale. So the Mets have that going for them, and that is a big deal.

But the storm clouds that blew through the metropolitan area on Wednesday night seem to be heading the Mets’ way as the calendar turns to July.

The Mets didn’t just lose an embarrassing, lopsided game. They also lost ineffective starter David Peterson to right side soreness that manager Luis Rojas described as "sharp pain" in his postgame post-mortem.

Usually, managers sugarcoat the truth about injuries, especially in the immediate aftermath. But Rojas kept repeating how high his level of concern is with Peterson after the lefthander exited in the fourth inning.

And the Mets, who usually wait until a limb is dangling before they send a player for an MRI, sent Peterson right out into the Atlanta night for tests.

"We don’t know what he has," Rojas said. "But, as of now, it’s just the soreness on his right side . . . But let’s pray for the best here."

It was the second time on Wednesday that Rojas talked about praying for one of his pitchers.

Before the game, Rojas broke the news that reliever Dellin Betances is going to have season-ending shoulder surgery, perhaps as early as Thursday.

Rojas was asked for an update on Betances by Newsday’s Laura Albanese. Betances had been pitching poorly in rehab games for Triple-A Syracuse.

"I’m glad you brought that up," Rojas said. "That way I can share this with you guys. We stopped Dellin. He complained of some shoulder pain and he’s getting surgery. So he’s going to miss the remainder of the season."

You could see half-listening heads spring to attention and even some jaws drop in the 20 or so Zoom windows. Reporters on the call instantly realized this could spell the end at age 33 for the career of one of the most stand-up guys in the game and one of the best New York stories we’ve seen in recent years.

Yes, we know Betances’ time with the Mets was nothing short of terrible. The sum total of his Mets career: 16 games, an 0-1 record, a 7.82 ERA, and one very bad signing by former general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

Betances was a New York guy (Washington Heights, Lower East Side) who grew up (all the way to 6-foot-8) to become a four-time All-Star reliever with the Yankees.

He is also one of the most thoughtful, honest, genuine and interesting athletes around. He was thrilled to have made it with his hometown team and just as thrilled to get a chance to bring some of that ol’ magic to Flushing.

It didn’t work out, and Betances is on the growing pile of Mets pitchers who have experienced injuries this season. Now add Peterson.

That’s why Thomas Szapucki made his big-league debut on Wednesday and threw 82 pitches in 3 2/3 innings and had to give way to Almora, who surrendered up a long three-run homer to Ozzie Albies, but at least got the final three outs in the bottom of the eighth.

The Mets went 15-15 in a grueling June and are still in first place in the NL East.

Since June 11, the Mets have played every day except one, including three doubleheaders. They don’t have a day off until the All-Star break.

"There’s been a lot of things we’ve done just to survive this stretch," Rojas said.

But the three-time defending division champion Braves have been a sleeping giant. The 2019 World Series champion Nationals, who scored 15 runs against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, have won eight of 10 to move two games back.

The storm clouds are coming for the Mets. They are running out of healthy pitchers. The rest of the season may be more about what the front office and rookie owner Steve Cohen can do before the July 30 trade deadline — yes, it’s not July 31 this year — to supplement what so far has been an inspiring, easy-to-like team.

The good news — great news — is that July starts with deGrom. That’s the best salve after 20-2.

But the Mets need more than the best pitcher on the planet if they are going to weather this brewing storm all the way to October.


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