The New York Mets take a Terrible loss and drop a Winnable series

The Mets were flying high through June and the beginning of July. However, their offense has hit a real cold stretch at a very inopportune time.

Today really felt like a game they had to win. It felt that way both in terms of the circumstances entering the game, but also how the game actually went.

The Mets went down 3-1 early, but had all the chances to come back. New York just could not capitalize with runners in scoring position. They were 2-10 with RISP.

The issue is more than just the inability to have a base knock. They also don’t seem capable of making the productive out. The simple act of getting a runner over and then in to score seems impossible right now.

The Mets have stranded countless leadoff doubles. A lot comes from the issue of not being able to hit a simple ground ball to the right side.

Good teams find ways to succeed with situational hitting. Right now, the Mets don’t have that.

Since July 14, the Mets are second to last in RISP. They are hitting 27-143(.189) with RISP in that span. The 20 consecutive loss White Sox are the only team worse than them. Hitting with RISP was the Mets strength during their great run.

Their lack of production was hidden by excellent pitching and fielding. However, the issues with their hitting are becoming more visible as the other parts of their game are going back to their normal.

Pete Alonso had three at bats with RISP. He grounded out, grounded into a double play and popped out on a very hittable pitch. His average with RISP has dipped under .200.

Francisco Alvarez has been one of the other Mets to struggle during this span. Alvarez is only hitting to a .125 average since the All Star break. He also made a key mistake while catching today. By prioritizing framing, he was not in a good position to block a ball. It led to run scoring on a wild pitch.

The final example of the Mets inability to hit in the clutch came in the eighth inning. Mark Vientos was up with the tying run on third and the go ahead run on first. Vientos grounded into a double play and ended the New York threat.

Losing two consecutive one run games to a bad team really stings. The Mets have no time to dwell on their defeat. Every game matters in the wild card race and they are right back at it tomorrow.

New York needs to find a way to start hitting in clutch situations again. If not, they will end up out of the wild card race very soon.