The New York Mets went 2-3 on their road trip this past week and have now gone 8-17 since their 11-1 start.
The Mets have the worst record in the National League since April 13th and the third-worst in the majors since that date (through games of 5/14):
White Sox 6-19
Orioles 8-19
Mets 8-17
Royals 10-19
Marlins 10-17
After a rainout Saturday night, the Mets lost to the Phillies, 4-2, Sunday afternoon in the final game of the two-game set.
Jacob deGrom, making his first start since suffering a hyperextended right elbow, needed 45 pitches to get through a scoreless bottom of the first and was removed as a precaution because of the length of the inning and the 59-minute rain delay that preceded it.
Prior to deGrom, eight other Mets starting pitchers in club history left a game after one full inning without allowing a run:
5/13/18 at Phi Jacob deGrom (pitch count)
9/23/17 vs. Was Noah Syndergaard (return from injury)
6/15/14 vs. SD Daisuke Matsuzaka (illness)
7/19/09 at Atl Fernando Nieve (strained quad)
9/3/04 at Phi Matt Ginter (sprained ankle)
7/29/03 vs. Mil Tom Glavine (ribcage strain)
8/31/88 vs. SD Sid Fernandez (sprained knee)
10/1/83 vs. Mtl Tom Seaver (strained back)
10/3/81 vs. Mtl Mike Scott (elbow pain)
The Mets rallied to win the opener of the series in Philadelphia, 3-1, Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Trailing 1-0 with one out in the top of the 9th inning, Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer to give the Mets the lead. Devin Mesoraco followed with a home run on the next pitch for an insurance run.
According to Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions, Conforto became the 3rd player in club history to hit a go-ahead home run in the 9th inning with the Mets behind 1-0.
On September 27th, 2014, Lucas Duda hit a two-run, game-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th vs. Tony Sipp to beat the Astros, 2-1, and on April 27th, 2015, Daniel Murphy hit a three-run 9th inning homer against Steve Cishek to put the Mets ahead to stay in a 3-1 victory over the Marlins in Miami.
It was also the third time in club history that a Mets batter hit a go-ahead home run while trailing in the 9th inning or later on the road against the Phillies:
5/11/18 Mets 3 at Phillies 1 Michael Conforto 2-run HR
9/12/09 Mets 10 at Phillies 9 David Wright 2-run HR
7/4/75 Mets 4 at Phillies 3 Jerry Grote 2-run pinch HR
The Mets lost the rubber game of the three game series in Cincinnati, 2-1, in 10 innings last Wednesday afternoon.
Adam Duvall led off the 10th inning with a homer to give the Reds the victory, their sixth "walk-off" win over the Mets at Great American Ballpark and the fifth that came on a home run:
4/4/05 Mets 6 Reds 7 Joe Randa solo HR in 9th
5/3/10 Mets 2 Reds 3 Laynce Nix solo HR in 11th
5/5/10 Mets 4 Reds 5 Orlando Cabrera solo HR in 10th
8/14/12 Mets 0 Reds 3 Jay Bruce 3-run HR in 9th
9/23/13 Mets 2 Reds 3 Shin-Soo Choo single in 10th
5/9/18 Mets 1 Reds 2 Adam Duvall solo HR in 10th
The Mets wasted a potential first-inning rally by batting out of turn. It was the first time a major league team was caught batting out of turn since the Brewers did it in 2016 and the first time the Mets had done it since 1977.
The Reds were on the other end of a batting snafu 10 years earlier at Shea Stadium. They batted out of turn in the ninth inning after a double switch during an 8-3 loss to the Mets on May 11, 2008.
The Mets lost the middle game of the three-game set with the Reds, 7-2, last Tuesday night in Cincinnati, but the big news came just before the game when the Mets traded Matt Harvey to the Reds for Devin Mesoraco.
There are at least two other previous instances of the Mets making a deal with a team they were playing that same day:
Back on August 18th, 1995, the Mets dealt Brett Butler to the Dodgers for minor leaguers Scott Hunter and Dwight Maness just prior to that night's game vs. Los Angeles at Shea Stadium, and on August 2nd, 1979, the Mets acquired Jose Cardenal from the Phillies in between games of a doubleheader vs. Philadelphia at Shea.
Happy Recap: Devin Mesoraco. Newly-acquired catcher became the first Met to hit a home run for his first hit with the club since Jay Bruce back on August 4th, 2016 at Yankee Stadium.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: One and Done. The Mets won their first two games of the season and nine in a row after their first loss, but have not won consecutive games since.
