Mets go from bad to worse in another loss to A’s
NEW YORK — Things went from bad to worse in Queens seemingly in a matter of minutes, but if you’ve watched the New York Mets at all this week, it probably felt much longer. Mental mistakes, defensive miscues and a lack of urgency early in the game led to an 11-6 loss to the A’s Saturday at Citi Field, the fourth straight for the Mets (7-8). They fought back later, scoring five runs after the fifth.
Bo Bichette homered for the first time with the Mets, a two-run shot off left-hander Jacob Lopez in the fifth that breathed new life back into the crowd. Francisco Alvarez hit one to lead off the sixth, and the Mets scored again on a sacrifice fly, bringing them back to within two runs of tying. Then it was Jorge Polanco’s turn to homer, doing so off Justin Sterner in the top of the seventh, making it 7-6.
But Luke Weaver gave up four runs in the eighth. Tyler Soderstrom hit his second home run of the game, a towering three-run shot to right field that came right after Shea Langeliers hit an RBI single. The A’s (7-7) pushed the game out of reach to take the series.
The life was sucked right out of Citi Field and its home dugout. The big implosion came in the top of the fourth inning, giving up five runs to go down by six. Right-hander Kodai Senga coughed up five runs in the top of the third, though it wasn’t all on him.
All told, an error, a failed double play, botched ground balls and a passed ball forced Senga to throw far more pitches than necessary over his 2 1/3 innings, the shortest outing of his career. The pitches he did throw were around the corners and the edge of the zone, with the starter seeming reticent to challenge hitters and throw the ball over the plate. The Mets averted disaster in the first inning.