Mets’ bats stay dormant in 4-1 loss to Marlins

The Mets‘ bats stayed dormant, mustering just three hits in their 4-1 loss to the Marlins in Miami on Saturday afternoon.

Mark Vientos picked up a squib hit (64.2 mph off the bat) in the second inning, but wouldn’t get another until the ninth. New York worked three walks as a team, and Vientos was hit by a pitch and was the only Mets batter to get on base twice.

Advertisement

Even the red-hot Juan Soto (0-3, BB) was held hitless as the Mets (22-30) lost back-to-back games and are 2-4 on the current seven-game road trip.

Here are the takeaways…

– Unlike in the series opener, the Marlins would get on the board first against Freddy Peralta. Back-to-back one-out singles in the second inning put runners on second and third — thanks to an ill-advised throw by Soto — before Owen Cassie lined a double past a diving Vientos to drive in the first two runs of the game.

Liam Hicks launched a 389-foot blast, just past the outstretched glove of Carson Benge, to give Miami a 3-0 lead. It wouldn’t get much better for Peralta in the fourth as the Marlins got two men on base with two outs. Xavier Edwards hit a slow grounder to Vientos at first, but the young infielder couldn’t make the shovel pass to Peralta covering, allowing Edwards to reach, but fortunately for the Mets, Vientos threw out Graham Pauley at the plate trying to score from second.

Advertisement

In the fifth, Hicks would get to Peralta again, leading off with his 11th homer of the season to put Miami up 4-0. It’s Hicks’ first career multi-homer game.

– To Peralta’s credit, he grinded into the seventh inning. After allowing a leadoff single, he struck out Edwards, got Hicks to fly out and Otto Lopez to strike out to get through seven innings for the first time as a Met.

The veteran right-hander gave the Mets what he had on extra rest, throwing a season-high 108 pitches (67 strikes). He finished allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out a season-high nine batters.

– Max Meyer, on the other hand, had no issue with the Mets, who are in the midst of a major offensive slump. After scoring just one run on three hits in Friday’s loss, Meyer pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

Advertisement

– Even with Meyer out, the Mets bats stayed dormant. Anthony Bender struck out three batters in his 1.1 innings of work. Tyrone Taylor hit a two-out, pinch-hit double in the ninth against Andrew Nardi to give the Mets their second hit of the game. Vientos followed with a hit to drive home Taylor and break up the shutout, but then A.J. Ewing grounded out to end the game.

– Jonathan Pintaro, called up on Saturday, pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning on just 12 pitches.

Game MVP: Max Meyer

Meyer matched his longest outing of the season and kept the Mets off balance with his vast arsenal of pitches.

Highlights