For eight innings, the Mets pitched, hit and played fairly fundamental baseball.
Innings nine and 10 were chaotic and ultimately costly.
Edwin Diaz blew another save in an eventful ninth before the Mets played a poor 10th inning in a 5-4 series-opening and stomach-turning loss to the Phillies in front of 28,086 at Citi Field on Monday.
The Mets (19-21) have lost three of the first four in this perhaps telling seven-game stretch against the Braves and Phillies, the latest particularly painful.
“You give the ball to your closer, and you feel good about your chances,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Diaz blew his second save in his past four games.
The Mets entered the ninth up two, but the game began to turn when Bryson Stott turned on an inside fastball that was not even a strike.
Stott launched a pitch that Diaz said “was like 2 inches out of the plate” for a homer to slice the lead to one, which is when Diaz’s command issues reappeared.
Kody Clemens singled before Diaz walked Brandon Marsh on four pitches. He bounced back, striking out Kyle Schwarber and inducing a pop-out from Garrett Stubbs.
But the pitch that angered Diaz and Mendoza the most was ball four to Whit Merrifield, whose bat appeared to go around but he was ruled to have checked his swing.
“That changed the game,” said Diaz, who was much calmer than a furious Mendoza, who screamed from the dugout. “Obviously he swung — I saw the video.”
Still, Diaz could have escaped and got ahead 0-2 on Alec Bohm, but his third pitch was a 98 mph fastball that Diaz said he overthrew, bearing in on Bohm and hitting his hand (and just missing the bat’s knob).
The bases-loaded plunking tied a game that the Mets would lose in the 10th.
“I let the team down,” said Diaz, who blamed his control for the blowup. “[Sean] Reid-Foley got the loss, but I count it as me because I came in with a two-run lead and blew it.”
The Mets collectively blew it in extras. A Reid-Foley pitch split Tomas Nido’s legs, advancing ghost runner Bryce Harper to third. Reid-Foley walked Nick Castellanos only after the Mets asked for a review to ensure it was indeed ball four and not ball three, before Stott’s sacrifice fly scored the game-winner.
In the bottom of the inning, Joey Wendle, who even in spot starts has had several rough moments this season, popped up a bunt for an out against Jose Alvarado.
Harrison Bader grounded out and Jeff McNeil flared out, stranding the ghost runner in a frustrating finish.
Forgotten by the end was all the good that was seen in the beginning and middle.
Sean Manaea pitched six strong innings in which he let up just a run — on a drag bunt — on four hits (three of which were poorly struck) and a walk.
After a poor outing in a loss to the Royals on April 13, Manaea has allowed seven earned runs in five starts and 26 ²/₃ innings, lowering his season ERA to 3.05.
His dominance of the Phillies, whose offense entered play having scored more runs than every team but the Dodgers, was especially encouraging.
“Not really rewriting the script,” said Manaea, whose best pitch of the night was his sinker. “Just attacking guys.”
He got help from Bader, whose sliding catch to retire Johan Rojas in the fourth saved a run, and got more help from the club’s righty sluggers.
Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez reached on a combined seven of 10 plate appearances.
In the second inning, the two hit back-to-back doubles to plate one run, and Tomas Nido’s single scored another to give the Mets a lead they held until the ninth.
The Mets scored again in the third when they loaded the bases on a Starling Marte double, Francisco Lindor walk and Alonso single.
They only plated one, though, on a bases-loaded walk from Martinez.
Philadelphia’s Christopher Sanchez struck out Brett Baty, Bader and McNeil in succession to escape further damage in a moment that did not matter until a late-game meltdown ensured it did.
“At the end of the day,” Mendoza said, “we have bases loaded and nobody out and couldn’t cash in.”
