New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway has one simple explanation for the bullpen performance Monday night.
Once again, the New York Mets bullpen took it upon themselves to blow a game for the organization.
On Monday night, the Mets trailed the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves 5-3 into the seventh inning. After four earned runs on 10 hits, starting pitcher Zack Wheeler exited the game for the Mets after six innings. Despite the two-run deficit, the Mets were still in a position to rally and steal a road game from the Braves.
And then, the bullpen came along and allowed seven hits over two innings.
"We just stunk" – Mickey Callaway on the Mets' bullpen pic.twitter.com/ut6DrrEwpU
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 18, 2019
That’s right, even Mets manager Mickey Callaway didn’t even have a full-on explanation as to what went wrong.
“We just stunk” isn’t exactly the greatest answer when trying to describe why the biggest issue for the organization continues to be a factor in these very winnable games.
When Wheeler exited after the sixth inning, Jeurys Familia came on in relief and only got through one out. He evidently gave up three earned runs on one hit and two walks.
Drew Gagnon was next, as he got through 1.1 innings. Gagnon, despite staying on the mound longer than others, allowed four earned runs on five hits and three walks. It’s unclear as to why coaches allowed him to stay in the game as long as they did.
Finally, one of the newest Mets, reliever Brooks Pounders entered and at least softened what was already a big blow as he struck out one and allowed no hits, walks or runs.
At the end of the night, the Braves knocked five in against Wheeler through six innings and then scored seven in the seventh and eighth, giving them a 12-3 win over New York.
It’s exhausting for fans to still have to deal with this extremely below-average bullpen, and it’s even more exhausting to see the manager at a loss for words because of it.
