Again, the New York Mets can’t trust their bullpen to hold a lead. Maikel Franco hits his second home run in as many nights against the Mets.
This is getting ridiculous. As the New York Mets watch the 2019 season slip away, the bullpen bears the brunt of the blame for the lost season. They are not the only one to blame, but they have been a major disappointment all season.
On Tuesday night, Wilmer Font added to the misery with a brutal relief appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies. Font took the ball from Walker Lockett with a 5-2 lead and runners on second and third. He induced soft contact to the first two batters he faced, but after a groundout and an infield single, both inherited runners scored.
However, the real damage came when Maikel Franco would step to the plate with one runner on.
It’s going from bad to worse for the Mets. #LGM pic.twitter.com/crNpKHoKSb
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) June 26, 2019
For the second straight night, Franco crushes the Mets with a go-ahead home run. On Monday, that home run was the turning point in a runaway victory for Philly. Tuesday could be much of the same.
Font would give up another monster shot to deep right center to Brad Miller. On the very next batter, the shaky reliever would drill Scott Kingery in the shoulder. His night was done. Manager Mickey Callaway had seen enough.
Callaway deserves a lot of the blame for this debacle of a 2019 season. He has not done a good job at managing his bullpen. However, the guys in the bullpen aren’t holding up their end of the bargain either.
With the exception of Seth Lugo, every single reliever in the bullpen has underachieved so far this season. It’s hard to fault Callaway when his relievers can’t get anybody out. It’s something that has plagued the Mets all season long and it will ultimately be their downfall.
