The Mets finished the three-game series in Colorado with another slugfest, falling to the Rockies 11-10 in the finale on Sunday.
Here are the takeaways…
1. After chasing two runs early in the game heading into their own at-bats in the fourth, the Mets did not wait around to strike back with a six-run frame. Tommy Pham evened the score with a two-run double to center before Eduardo Escobar put New York in front with an RBI single.
In need of insurance runs, Francisco Alvarez delivered a thunderous swing for the second time in around 18 hours with another three-run home run deep into the left field bleachers. Both six-run frames in the last few games were capped with three-run blasts off the bat of Alvarez.
2. For the second straight day, the Rockies wasted little time taking an early lead. A pair of RBI singles in the third inning from Randal Grichuk and Harold Castro plated two runs against Taylor Megill.
In the bottom of the fourth, Colorado rallied back to tie the game. A bouncing ball off the leg of Pham in left put runners on the corners with two down. Megill walked Chris Bryant to load the bases. The Rockies took advantage with a bases-clearing double from Ryan McMahon that barely tipped off the glove of a diver Starling Marte in center field, his first start in that position in two years. Grichuk immediately brought home McMahon with a single to left over a leaping Escobar to tie the game at six.
Megill’s day came to a close after four innings of work and six runs allowed.
3. The offensive back and forth looked ready to continue in the fifth when Pete Alonso led off the frame with a leadoff triple when his fly ball dropped behind a sliding Bryant on the warning track on the right field corner. One hitter later, McMahon threw out Alonso at the plate, who was running on contact on a ground ball from Mark Vientos.
4. Buck Showalter went to Stephen Nogosek as the first arm in relief of Megill in the fifth. The bottom of the order for Colorado retook the lead by way of an RBI double from Austin Wynns off the wall in deep center field. The extra-base hit ensured that every Rockie in the starting lineup recorded a hit for the second time in as many days.
The momentum continued a batter later when Charlie Blackmon turned around a fastball for a two-run home run and a 9-6 lead. Later in the inning, McMahon continued his momentous stretch with another two-run home run, this time to left center field to tally eight runs batted in during the series.
5. In the seventh, Francisco Lindor deposited his ninth home run of the season into the bullpen to chip back into the Colorado lead. Marte added the team’s second triple of the day with a hard line drive off the right field fence. After a two-out walk, Daniel Bard entered the game to fan Mark Canha and stranded two runners.
In the ninth, the Mets delivered one final rally on the weekend. Pham contributed another two-run extra-base hit, this time with a triple to cut the lead to two. He came around to score on a Brett Baty groundout. Justin Lawrence did finish the game as Escobar grounded out to second as Colorado took both the finale and the series.
Sunday flipped multiple trends from Saturday. After the Mets scored seven unanswered runs to take the lead on Saturday night, the Rockies erupted for nine unanswered runs to regain the advantage on Sunday afternoon.
Highlights
What’s Next
The Mets gain a day off on Memorial Day before hosting the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 7:10 pm