For six-plus innings Thursday night, Nolan McLean dazzled at Citi Field. He allowed just a pair of hits and his stuff was especially filthy, as Arizona hitters were largely overmatched.
But lefty Eduardo Rodríguez was nearly as good for the Diamondbacks, and when McLean faltered in the seventh inning, Luke Weaver came in and got knocked around, as the Mets lost their second straight, 7-1.
McLean’s performance was about the only thing that went right for the Mets on another chilly night in Queens.
The right-hander faced just two batters over the minimum heading into the seventh before a leadoff walk to Geraldo Perdomo to start the inning. After a strikeout of Adrian Del Castillo, McLean’s eighth of the night, he gave up a single to Jose Fernandez and was yanked after a career-high 100 pitches.
And that’s when the game was lost, with the bullpen and defense falling apart late.
Weaver entered having allowed just three base runners in five innings over five appearances, but he gave up a game-tying double to right to pinch-hitter Gabriel Moreno that Brett Baty couldn’t catch up to. Baty, still new to right field, pulled up short of the fence in right and the ball hit off the fence.
“I felt I got a good read on it and tried to get back there [quickly] to find the wall,’’ said Baty, who added it was the first time he’s had a play like that. “I’m still working hard to get some experience with wall balls. … I think they’re extremely hard, but I’m gonna do everything I can to catch those. I’ll run through the wall if I have to.”
Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. But in this one, the inability to come up with a catch led to a loss, as Alek Thomas then grounded to first with the infield in and Mark Vientos made a poor throw home, which allowed Fernandez to score to give Arizona the lead.
A Tim Tawa sacrifice fly added another run, and Jorge Barrosa continued the rally with a triple to right to make it 4-1.
Weaver left to a chorus of boos following the four-run outburst.
Luis García was even worse, as the right-hander gave up three runs in the eighth, with the Diamondbacks putting the game away.
The lineup didn’t give the pitchers any margin for error, mostly silent outside of one swing from Luis Robert Jr. in the bottom of the first. His two-out solo homer was the first earned run scored off Rodríguez this year — and the last the Mets would score on the night.
They threatened with two outs in the third when Bo Bichette singled and Robert walked. Vientos followed with a liner up the middle, but second baseman Ketel Marte was shaded that way and made the catch.
Another potential rally arose in the fifth. Tyrone Taylor opened with a double to left and moved to third on Francisco Lindor’s grounder to shortstop. After Bichette walked, Rodríguez got Robert looking and Vientos grounded out to third to keep it a one-run game.
Still, the Mets held the lead to open the seventh and had their high-leverage relievers ready to go. But Weaver and García combined to give up five runs while getting just three outs.
Weaver said his tough outing was more painful considering how well McLean pitched.
“It adds a little more sting,’’ Weaver said. “He deserved the win there.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
