The Mets tied a franchise record on Friday night — and not a good one.
The team allowed seven home runs in a 14-2 loss to the Pirates – the fifth time that has happened in Mets history – while losing their third consecutive game.
Luis Severino was responsible for three of those home runs, which the manager Carlos Mendoza credited the Pirates with a good strategy against the right-hander.
“They were aggressive from the first pitch of the game against Sevy,” Mendoza said. “They took away his fastball and did damage. When he tried to use his secondary [pitches], he changed it and moved away from the slider/sweeper to give it a different look. They were tough on him the whole game.”
Severino got through the first three innings with relative ease until allowing two solo home runs in the fourth, which tied the game at 2. Severino allowed the leading Pirates to take the lead on a two-run home run to Bryan Reynolds in the fifth inning.
Severino said after the game that they were “very smart” with some field choices.
“The first three innings we were trying sinkers on the outside [getting] ground ball, flying ball. I tried putting in some seams and a shift that found the barrel.
The Mets right-hander left the game in the seventh after loading the bases with no one out while Jake Diekman was relieved and allowed a grand slam to Reynolds.
Things only get worse in the eighth inning, when Ty Adcock, which Mendoza was trying to use to get through the game and save the bullpen, allowed three more home runs, including another grand slam, this time to Rowdy Tellez.
“It’s not pretty,” Mendoza said. “Trying to get three outs there. Trying to stay away from a position player. It was difficult for Adcock. … We knew we were putting pressure on Adcock. Forty-five [pitches] that was the limit there. Once he got the second one, we weren’t going to put any more pressure on him.”
After a scorching June to put the Mets back in contention for the National League wild card spot, they have lost three straight and are back to 3.5 games out of the wild card spot.
“That’s part of baseball,” Francisco Lindor said after the game. “A week ago we were on a good streak, we played well in the first two games in DC… now we need to get out of that plot and find a good one. We still have a lot of games to play, we have to be on the winning side.”
