Sean Manaea struggled for the first time in a Mets uniform, and the lineup could not bail him out as New York lost 11-7 to the Royals at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways…
-The fourth inning was a nightmare for the Mets, and ultimately cost them the game. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a fly ball to Starling Marte in right, but the outfielder lost it in the windy conditions and it tipped off his glove, allowing Witt Jr. to reach third. After he scored on an RBI single, Salvador Perez launched a ball that carried into left-center field where Brandon Nimmo lept to try and catch it. Despite the effort, the ball went off the tip of his glove and hit the bars above the orange line for a two-run home run.
Garret Hampson singled with two outs to chase Manaea and stole second base on Cole Sulser — the 23rd straight base stealer without being caught by the Mets — before Freddy Fermin singled home Hampson. Kansas City sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs on four hits, one walk and one huge error.
– Manaea had trouble with his control in his third Mets start. After throwing 26 pitches and giving up a run in the first, he allowed the bases to be loaded and walked in a run. Perez poked a single through the left side to push across two.
The left-hander would only last 3.2 innings (89 pitches/53 strikes) giving up eight runs (six earned) on nine hits, three walks while striking out four batters. Manaea entered Saturday’s game with a 0.82 ERA after two starts, but it has ballooned to 4.30 after three.
– On the offensive side Pete Alonso has woken from his hibernation. After hitting a homer in Friday’s game he would smoke two more in Game 2 of this series. The slugger has six home runs this season and four in as many games.
Alonso finished 3-for-3 with a walk and drove in three runs.
– DJ Stewart continued his resurgence with a 1-for-2 day, including an RBI double in the Mets’ three-run first inning. the left-handed DH has driven in at least one run in three straight games.
– The left side of the Mets infield had a rough day at the plate. Francisco Lindor went hitless with a strikeout, a walk and a run scored but did make several good plays on defense. Brett Baty also went hitless but did have an RBI groundout when hustled down the line — assisted by Alonso’s slide into second base to disrupt the throw.
– Marte had three hits on Saturday including his second homer of the season. Joey Wendle, who was hitless this season, picked up two hits of his own.
Game MVP: Salvador Perez
The last remaining Royal from the 2015 World Series team, Perez went 2-for-5 but drove in four runs including the two-run homer that was a gutshot to the Mets in that four-run fourth inning.
The home run was Perez’s 250th career home run. He’s second in Royals history behind George Brett (317).
Highlights
What’s Next…
The Mets and Royals finish their three-game set Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. after Dwight Gooden’s number retirement ceremony on SNY.
Jose Butto (0-0, 1.50 ERA) makes his second start of the season and will go up against LHP Cole Ragans (0-1, 2.60 ERA).
