The Mets put up 21 runs during their three games in Houston against the reigning World Series champion Astros, yet lost the series after dropping Wednesday’s rubber game, 10-8. The Amazins’ haven’t won a series since sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies on May 30-June 1 and have gone 4-13 since.
“It’s been challenging. We’ve done some good things,” manager Buck Showalter said after his team’s latest loss. “We’ve gotten some really good starts. It just hasn’t been the whole group. We’ve got to get better at it.”
Wednesday’s starter, Taylor Megill, coming off his best start of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field, was the latest pitcher to no-show when New York needed him most.
He lasted just 2.1 innings – his shortest outing this season – and allowed five runs (four earned) on four hits and four walks. Megill now has a galling 7.99 ERA in eight starts away from home this year.
“It’s more so the embarrassing part for me,” Megill said about his start. “Our offense has gone out there and they’re putting up great at-bats and getting the run support. It’s the frustrating part for me – I’m not helping the team out because I’m not doing my job.”
But it hasn’t just been Megill who has struggled to find any kind of consistency this season out of the Mets’ starting rotation, which was supposed to be the linchpin of the team’s roster.
Justin Verlanderwhom the Mets signed to help anchor their rotation and who on Tuesday night against his former team couldn’t get the job done either, has also been up and down, good and bad, hot and cold this season, pitching like the longtime ace he’s been his entire career one start and getting knocked around the next.
And then there’s Max Scherzer who has had his own struggles and downright odd start to the season, Carlos Carrasco who owns a 6.34 ERA and hasn’t looked particularly good in his last three starts and Kodai Sengathe Japanese-born pitcher who, although has an entirely different can of worms to deal with as he acclimates to a new country, new league, new team and even a new baseball and therefore has the biggest excuse to show some inconsistency this season, has been the most consistent starting pitcher on the mound for New York.
Still, despite the team-wide struggles, Showalter has faith in his players and his team.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys,” he said. “I think they all know what the answer is. We just have to play better. It’s right there. It’s not just one person. We just collectively have to play more consistently.”
At 34-40 and 13.5 games back of the division, that has to start now.