Another Bobby Parnell sighting and yet another loss for the New York Mets against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Are they not ready for primetime?
- Pirates 8 (69-46), Mets 1 (63-55)
- Win: Arquimedes Caminero
- Loss: Bobby Parnell
At least this time isn’t wasn’t close.
The New York Mets turned what was an enthusiastic day – having lost two close, well-played extra innings games – into a nightmare with an 8-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates today at Citi Field.
#RaiseIt for the sweep. Pedro Alvarez homers & Aramis Ramirez adds 4 hits & 3 RBI as @Pirates beat Mets, 8-1. pic.twitter.com/lX8iFhA7Gh
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) August 16, 2015
The #Mets have now been outscored by the #Pirates 37-10 this season. Keep that in your back pocket.
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) August 16, 2015
On Harvey Day, Matt Harvey didn’t have his topnotch stuff. He impressively struggled through six innings of work, giving up only one run and scattering seven Bucs hits.
The Mets lineup and defense are to blame today.
Without even mentioning the fact they could only muster four total hits on the day, Bobby Parnell entering the seventh inning provided more Mets nightmares. With a man on first and no out, Parnell fielded a comebacker to the mound and promptly threw it into center field. Ruben Tejada was late covering, but Parnell needed to hesitate just a split moment to make sure that didn’t happen.
Bobby Parnell walks leadoff batter. Michael Morse then hits comebacker. No one at 2B on time. Scored E-1. Runners on corners. none out.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) August 16, 2015
Instead of nobody on and two out in a 1-1 game, the Pirates were set up with men on the corners and no outs. This opened the floodgates for a Pittsburgh four run inning.
When you and your friends realize it’s time to #RAISEIT pic.twitter.com/N5Urlr8sue
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 16, 2015
The Bucs tacked on three more in the eighth off Eric O’Flaherty and Carlos Torres, making the final 8-1.
Final Thoughts:
There’s just no way around it. Although Friday and Saturday brought tremendous and exciting baseball between two potential NL playoff clubs, the Mets proved to be not ready for primetime.
Hanging tough is simply not good enough. It’s the those teams who deliver the clutch hit or big time pitch in the right spot that find their way into October and beyond. Defensive lapses – Parnell today and Daniel Murphy from a night ago – cannot happen on the big stage.
Granted this is the first go-around for these guys. They’ve never experienced high pressure baseball like this as of yet. Their comfy (now) four-game lead in the NL East is only still pleasurable because those Washington Nationals keep on losing.
They’ll have to take this series against a very good team who has been in the spotlight the past two seasons to heart. Take it as a learning experience and move on.
Making all the right plays and the most critical times will the Mets final step in building a championship quality caliber team.
The Mets broke the rules on Saturday night, and lost because of it http://t.co/NkLaYqShdK pic.twitter.com/smfdLbZZCq — Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) August 16, 2015
