Justin Verlander and the Mets failed to start a winning streak on Tuesday night, as the offense couldn't do enough against Framber Valdez to earn a second straight victory.
Sal Licata says the team's inability to consistently win games with their aces on the mound is one of the main reasons why the Mets are in their current predicament, and why they likely won't get out of it unless that narrative changes.
"Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have led the Mets to wins in consecutive starts once the entire season," Sal said. "There are plenty of reasons for that, but I don't care what the excuses are. We're approaching the end of June with max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, together, when in that rotation back-to-back…the Mets have only won both of their consecutive starts once. That was the doubleheader against Cleveland.
"Then you wonder why this team stinks. It's because the $86 million men atop their rotation have not been winning games for the Mets. If you can't win games that Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander start, it's just not gonna happen."
Scherzer put together arguably his best start as a Met on Monday night, but Verlander was burned by a couple mistakes on Tuesday, leading to a loss. Last week, it was Verlander who was brilliant, but Scherzer was knocked around by the Yankees the night before. Such has been the story for the Mets' two high-priced arms, and Tuesday's start for Verlander was another wasted opportunity to build momentum.
"You thought maybe this would be the second time it happens. Max Scherzer was dominant, Justin Verlander going against his former team," Sal said. "I know they were facing Framber Valdez, but you thought maybe they were due to have consecutive wins with these guys on the mound. It shouldn't be that hard, but the Mets make it impossible, whether it's against the Braves, the Yankees, or anybody else."
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