The New York Mets (18-20) were looking to claim a series win against the Cincinnati Reds (16-21) on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, they have had a tough time in the first inning all year and it happened to them again. The Reds scored four runs in the first against Kodai Senga (4-2, 4.14 ERA) and New […]
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Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Mets (18-20) were looking to claim a series win against the Cincinnati Reds (16-21) on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, they have had a tough time in the first inning all year and it happened to them again. The Reds scored four runs in the first against Kodai Senga (4-2, 4.14 ERA) and New York could never catch up as they ended up losing, 5-0. They have now been shut out a major league-leading seven times this year.
The bottom of the first began when Jonathan India got ahead of Senga in the count 3-0 and doubled down the left field line. Three batters later, Jake Fraley drove him in with an RBI single. After a Tyler Stephenson single, Nick Senzel had an RBI double to right.
As the inning continued, Henry Ramos drew a walk and Kevin Newman drove in two runs with a single past Francisco Lindor and into left field. The Reds had a 4-0 lead after the first inning. This year, the Mets have been outscored 34-9 in the first and Senga has a 6.43 ERA (.323 batting average against) in the first:
Make that 34-9. https://t.co/1hsmOlmCiD
— Mojo Hill (@mojohill22) May 11, 2023
Senga eventually recovered as he struck out the next five hitters in a row after the Newman single, but he could not go deep into his outing like Justin Verlander did Wednesday night. He kept the Reds scoreless until the fifth, when Spencer Steer hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-0.
On the afternoon, Senga went five innings, allowed five runs on eight hits, walked a batter, and struck out seven on 95 pitches (59 strikes) in the loss.
The Mets offense faced an opener in Derek Law as Nick Lodolo had his start pushed back, which made the Reds go to a bullpen game. They ended up having six hits, with four of them coming against one pitcher (Ben Lively). Lively ended up getting the win (1-0, 0.00), while Jimmy Herget (1.69 ERA) ended up throwing three scoreless innings (two hits, four strikeouts) to pick up his first save of the year.
Two of New York’s best chances came in the fifth and seventh inning. In the top of the fifth, the Mets had two on and one out, but Lindor struck out swinging and Jeff McNeil grounded out to first, which got Lucas Sims out of the inning.
In the seventh, Francisco Álvarez picked up a one-out double for his second hit of the day. Unfortunately, he did not come around to score as Ramos threw him out at the plate when Lindor hit a single to right. As a team, the Mets were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and they left nine on base in the defeat.
After Senga left the game, Tommy Hunter came in and was able to preserve some of the arms in the bullpen. He went 2 1/3 innings, allowed no runs on two hits and struck out two on 31 pitches (20 strikes). Hunter got into trouble in the eighth, but Dominic Leone came in and was able to induce an inning-ending double play.
On a day when the Mets’ offense did not do much, Álvarez is the player of the game. He was the only player in the lineup to have a multi-hit day, as he went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout. He went 4-for-10 in the three-game series with two home runs and a double, and he has provided New York some much-needed offense at the bottom of the order.
The Mets continue their road trip on Friday when they begin a four-game series against the Washington Nationals (16-21). You can catch the game on WPIX-11 beginning at 7:05 p.m. ET. LHP MacKenzie Gore (3-2, 3.65 ERA) will get the start for the Nationals. Meanwhile, the Mets have not announced any pitchers for this upcoming series.
In the only series the two clubs have faced each other so far this season, the Nationals took two out of three from the Mets at Citi Field (April 25-27).
The post Mets Shut Out For MLB-Worst Seventh Time first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
