The Mets Friday night matchup with the Mariners was starting to get out of hand.
After Jose Quintana pitched six brilliant innings, he faltered in the seventh, allowing two runs to score via a single from the ninth-place hitter Leo Rivas.
The small two-run deficit the Mets faced quickly became a high and mighty four-run spot. And in an effort to stop the bleeding, manager Carlos Mendoza pulled his starter to stop the bleeding.
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Adam Ottavino was the first man out of the bullpen. Tasked with getting the Mets one more out of the inning to keep the game at 4-0. But Ottavino, as he’s done the majority of the year, struggled.
The righty started his outing with a walk to the Victor Robles. Not back-breaking with two outs, but not ideal with the hitters up behind the former National.
The next man up for the Mariners was Randy Arozarena, who entered the at-bat with a .219 batting average and was 0-for-2. A scary name for sure, but a guy Ottavino should have handled. Instead, the righty walked him after a six-pitch at-bat, loading the bases for the dangerous Cal Raleigh.
It was a breaking point for Ottavino and the Mets. Bases loaded, two-outs, and an at-bat that had the potential to put the game out of reach. And what followed for the Mets was precisely that.
The Mariners backstop came through, rifling a single to right field to bring two more runs to explode the lead to 6-0. The four-run lead earlier seemed like a tall task, but a six-run appeared insurmountable.
It wouldn’t matter in the end, as the Mets were shut out and dropped the first game of the series to the Mariners. But if not for the blowup by Ottavino, who only needed one out, in the seventh, a comeback was within realm.
The ill performance from the righty comes at a crossroads in the Mets season. Reed Garrett and Sean Reid–Foley are on the cusp of returning this season, and someone in the bullpen will be the odd man out.
Right now, all eyes are pointing toward the 38-year-old Ottavino. He’s pitched to a 4.43 ERA with a 1.226 WHIP and 9.1 walk percentage. Not ideal for a reliever who was signed to a high-leverage role.
Another glaring issue is the stolen bases. Ottavino has struggled all season with holding runners, and allowed three more stolen bases against the M’s on Friday.
As of now, Ottavino is staying with the Mets. Tim Britton of the Athletic reported that the Mets will option Alex Young in favor of Garrett, but there’s still one more arm that will go in favor of Reid-Foley.
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