Latest blown Mets loss sucked away momentum from previous day's beating

From the first pitch to the final out, Thursday’s New York Mets marathon loss to the Oakland Athletics was an embarrassment. A game that took nearly 4 hours long and set a record for the longest game of the pitch clock era, this capped off a rough week that depending on your calendar of choice began with a ridiculously empty series against the Seattle Mariners.

What was the problem this time? Mets pitchers walked a combined 11 batters. All 6 pitchers who entered walked at least one batter. It was a wildly ineffective afternoon that fortunately many of the camp kids in attendance didn’t have to see end. Who knows if they’ll show up to a game ever again?

The Mets needed to win the finale against the Athletics for a lot of reasons

Every win is big. Taking the third of three versus Oakland was necessary to stick it further to Austin Adams who mocked them in the opener when he struck out Francisco Alvarez. They gallantly won big on Wednesday, shoving the mockery down his throat, only to drop back down again in the finale after what began as such a positive day for the offense led by Mark Vientos and his two dingers.

The good feelings didn’t even last a full day. A loss in the day game after the night destroyed the momentum. Now 1-5 in their last 6, the sweep against the Mariners looks less fluky and more representative of who this team is.

The Mets pitching has been a major letdown lately

Through all of the losing, average or worse starting pitching has been a constant. Suddenly, David Peterson has become the most trustworthy member of the staff. Who would’ve predicted this? Jose Quintana was as responsible as anyone on Thursday for the bad juju. The grand slam he allowed wasn’t a single mistake he made that cost him. Quintana escaped plenty of trouble early on and that big salami off the bat of JJ Bleday assured the lefty he wasn’t going to get out of this one unscathed. Although he avoided the loss, his poor performance helped the Athletics get back into a game that looked like it was in the Mets’ hands.

The Mets relievers have been better of late, but not in this one. Reed Garrett showed us that maybe he should be one to lose his roster spot if the club faces any sort of a bullpen roster crunch. He has options, unlike Adam Ottavino who managed to avoid participating in this game. Garrett was the complete opposite of the way he looked in his return from the IL over the weekend when he struck out the side versus the Mariners. Which version will spit out from the bullpen next time he is called upon?

Too many winnable games are slipping past the Mets before they face much tougher teams

This year’s Mets have had plenty of bad losses like any club would over 162 games. This one sticks out because of everything involved. At home, outside of a playoff spot, and against a team whose own worst enemy is their owner, this should’ve been a cakewalk victory.

Any game near the climax of the season that ends with a loss will hurt more. From 5-0 after three innings to 7-6 after all nine, it was a game that sucked all of the good faith from the day before out of this team. 

Presently the only team above .500 in the National League without a playoff spot secured, they’ve been able to escape disaster because the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants beat up on each other. Two games behind the former and 1.5 ahead of the latter, they need to bounce back quickly after taking one on the head in a winnable game.