Yankees 7 Mets 6 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets record: 31-36
Mets streak: Lost 2
WP - Rob Marinaccio (3-3)
LP - Josh Walker (0-1)
SV - Michael King (4)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
It was a very balanced attack by the Yankees, but D.J. LeMahieu's two run homer in the 4th inning got the Yankees going in their five run inning off Max Scherzer to jumpstart the Yankees to victory.
Need to Know
The Mets answered Giancarlo Stanton's first inning home run with a Brandon Nimmo homer in the bottom of the first. Singles by Brett Baty in the first and Jeff McNeil in the second drove in three, while a Mark Canha ground out in the third gave the Mets a 5-1 lead.
Max Scherzer didn't give up more than five runs all of last season. He gave up six runs on Tuesday ... in 3 and 1/3 innings, with most of the damage coming in a five run 4th which erased a 5-1 lead.
The Mets had come back to tie the game in the 5th, but a sac fly by Josh Donaldson gave the Yankees the lead for good in the top of the 6th.
With the Yankees up 7-6 to start the 7th, Drew Smith came in to pitch. But after all four umpires checked Drew Smith's hands for sticky stuff, Smith was ejected from the game, and will now most likely be suspended for ten games, not a great situation for the Mets' bullpen.
Then John Curtiss was charged an automatic ball because he was rushed in to replace Smith and didn't have his pitch com with him. But it didn't hurt him as he threw a scoreless 7th.
The Mets had the bases loaded with one out in the 8th, but Clay Holmes struck out Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte to end the inning.
Turning Point
Brandon Nimmo very rarely makes mistakes in the field. But after the Mets had tied the game at 6-6 in the 5th, the Yankees got a runner on second with one out. Anthony Volpe looped a ball to center that was in Nimmo's reach.
The play was very generously called a double, but Nimmo inhales that ball with no problem on most nights. The lead runner scored on a sac fly, and that was the margin of victory.
Three Keys
Scherzer: Six runs in 3 and 1/3 will not get it done, especially not when you get a 5-1 lead and cough it up. He was tagged two pitches in by a Giancarlo Stanton homer, but seemed to settle in the next two and you thought he was okay. But in the 4th, a single by Anthony Rizzo, LeMahieu's two run homer, a single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, then after an out a single by Kyle Higashioka, an Anthony Volpe double, and then a bloop single by Jake Bauers gave the Yankees the lead and ended Scherzer's night.
The inconsistency of Scherzer and Justin Verlander is putting this team in a hole that is growing more impossible to crawl out of.
The 8th inning: The Mets had their best chance to take the lead back from the Yankees in the 8th when they loaded the bases with one out. Mark Canha drew a walk against Wandy Peralta to start the inning. Then Nimmo singled in the oppo hole, and Francisco Alvarez hustled to beat out a double play. After McNeil followed that up by getting hit by a pitch, Holmes came in to face Lindor and Marte with the bases loaded and one out. Holmes fell behind 1-0 to Lindor, but came back to strike him out on a slider down the middle. Holmes also fell behind to Marte, who ended the 6th by striking out with runners on first and second.
It was obvious that Holmes was going slider, slider, slider. Yet still, Lindor and Marte couldn't lay off the ones on the edge or hit the ones down the middle. Holmes made good pitches, but it felt like the Mets let him off the hook.
Drew Smith: His ejection was shocking, but his imminent suspension is going to kill the Mets, who have enough issues keeping their bullpen held together.
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