The Mets dropped to .500 after a three-game sweep at the hands of the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks, punctuated with a 9-0 loss in the series finale Thursday afternoon in front of 39,271 fans at Citi Field.
The Mets (57-57) are now 10-16 since the All-Star break and 3-12 in their last 15 games at home. They have lost six of their last eight and are 3-7 in August.
Mets starter Noah Syndergaard’s midseason struggles continued. Syndergaard, who was virtually unhittable at the start of the season, allowed three runs on eight hits, struck out six and walked one in five innings, throwing 91 pitches in the process.
Meanwhile, the Mets offense couldn’t figure out Arizona rookie starter Braden Shipley, who threw seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. The Mets finished the game with five hits
The performance fit in with Syndergaard’s recent downward spiral. After going 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA in his first 14 starts, he entered Thursday 1-4 with a 3.99 ERA over his last seven starts.
Syndergaard (9-7), who even when successful this season struggled to hold runners on, yielded four stolen bases, including one to Shipley. The Diamondbacks stole 13 bases in their three-game sweep.
Syndergaard needed 21 pitches to maneuver out of a jam in the first inning. With runners on second and third and one out he got Jake Lamb to pop out to third and struck out Chris Owings.
Syndergaard cruised through the second but found himself in trouble again in the third. With runners at first and third and two outs he got Lamb to pop out to third.
But more trouble came in the fourth when Arizona finally broke through. Owings doubled to lead off, moved to third on Brandon Drury’s flyout and scored on Socrates Brito’s ground-rule double.
One batter later, Tuffy Gosewisch’s RBI triple down the rightfield line eluded Jay Bruce and drove in Brito. Shipley singled in Gosewisch to make it 3-0 and proceeded to steal second base without a throw.
Syndergaard threw a scoreless fifth and Jon Niese entered to start the sixth. Niese failed to keep the game close, allowing six runs on three hits, walking three, and striking out two.
..... - Newsday