PHOENIX — In his first start since rejoining the Mets, Jonathon Niese allowed three homers. And in absorbing a 13-5 drubbing on Wednesday, the Mets again made the cellar-dwelling Diamondbacks look like they should be planning a World Series parade.
Yasmany Tomas led the onslaught, hitting a pair of homers and a two-run triple to finish with six RBIs. He finished with four homers in the series, with at least one in each game. Rickie Weeks Jr. hit a pair of homers of his own to knock in five runs.
And the injury-depleted Mets (60-60), fighting to remain within reach of the playoffs, dropped two of three to the Diamondbacks (50-70). The series loss came after the Mets were swept in a three-game series by the Diamondbacks at Citi Field last week.
On Thursday, the Mets begin a four-game set against the Giants, whose own freefall has knocked them out of first place in the NL West. But as the Diamondbacks proved, the Mets have offered no indication that they can take advantage.
The fading Mets have fallen four games behind the Cardinals, who hold the second wild-card spot.
Had things gone according to plan this season, Zack Wheeler would have rejoined the rotation a month ago, giving the Mets some much needed depth. But his rehab from Tommy John has been riddled with setbacks, the latest coming on Wednesday, when he was shut down for two weeks with a strained flexor tendon in his elbow.
It’s likely that he will not return this season, leaving the Mets to scrounge for a fifth starter.
Niese, 29, hoped to make good on his second chance to stick in a big-league starting rotation. In 18 starts with the Pirates, he posted a 7-6 mark but a 5.13 ERA, a number inflated by his inability to keep the ball in the park.
For that failure, he was bumped from the rotation, and general manager Neal Huntington expressed buyers’ remorse for acquiring Niese in a trade for second baseman Neil Walker.
Of all pitchers with a minimum 100 innings, Niese began the day ranked fourth worst in baseball with 1.78 homers per nine innings. Yet, the Mets traded failing reliever Antonio Bastardo back to the Pirates for Niese, in hopes that a change of scenery might help.
Niese made four appearances out of the bullpen for the Mets, posting a 10.50 ERA. But when Logan Verrett stumbled as the Mets’ fifth starter, the veteran Niese got the call over other candidates in rookies Seth Lugo and Gabriel Ynoa.
Experience, however, didn’t seem to do Niese much good as he surrendered four runs in just 4 2/3 innings in his first start since July 10.
Through three innings, the lefthander hadn’t surrendered a hit, with the only baserunners coming on a pair of walks. But things changed quickly in the fourth.
The Diamondbacks’ most dangerous hitter, Paul Goldschmidt, who reached base four times, singled to start the fourth. Weeks followed with a two-run shot.
Tomas made it back-to-back homers, depositing a solo shot to leftfield. In a flash, the Mets trailed 3-1, only to watch the deficit climb to 6-1 in the fifth. That’s when Weeks bashed his second homer, a three-run shot.
The Mets offense — still missing stalwarts Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera — managed little against the worst pitching staff in the National League.
In his first start since Aug. 3 because he had been bumped from the rotation, righthander Zack Godley held the Mets to two runs 7 1/3 innings.
Curtis Granderson, whose slump got him dropped to sixth in the order on Wednesday, finished 1-for-4 with a solo shot to make it a 10-run game in the ninth. Cleanup man James Loney went 0-for-5, continuing what has been a steady slide. He began play with a .469 OPS in August.
..... - Newsday