The Mets were hoping a return home to start a nine game homestand would get them going but the opener of a three game series against the Oakland A’s didn’t go as planned.
A’s catcher Shea Langeliers went 4 for 4 with a home run, two doubles and four runs batted in to lead the A’s to a 9-4 win and hand the Mets their fourth straight loss.
The Mets, who swept three from Oakland last season, found out the hard way that the A’s are much more competitive than they used to be. The loss left the Mets (61-58) two full games behind the Braves (who beat the Giants last night) for the third NL WC spot.
Starter and loser Paul Blackburn, who was making his home debut, was facing his old team for the first time and it did not start well.
The former A’s pitcher walked lead off hitter Lawrence Butler on five pitches. Brent Rooker singled to right to put runners on first and second, but Butler was asleep at second and Blackburn picked him off for the first out.
After the right hander got former Yankee Miguel Andujar on one pitch to fly out to center, he appeared to be ready to get out of trouble, but he hit Langeliers to load the bases and then Seth Brown stroked a bases clearing double to right center field to put the Mets in an early 3-0 hole.
“I was hoping to come in here and be able to go out there and get through the first quickly and give the guys a chance on the offensive side. Just didn’t work out tonight,” Blackburn said.
“He just had a hard time commanding his pitches,” Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza said. “They got a couple of guys on, then they got the big hit [Brown’s double], we didn’t make a play behind him and then they got another big hit [Langeliers home run]. It was a struggle for him today.”
Mets got one back in the second against A’s starter Joe Boyle.
With one out, J.D. Martinez was hit on the elbow and Jeff McNeil walked putting runners on first second. Jose Iglesias, who was hitting .414 with runners in scoring position, delivered an RBI single to right center field to score Martinez with the Mets’ first run.
In his next scheduled at bat in the third, Mark Vientos pinch hit for Martinez. After the game, Mendoza said that x-rays were negative.
Things came apart in the third for the newest Mets pitcher.
With runners at first and second and nobody out, Andujar hit a chopper towards third. Iglesias tried to field it and run to third to start a 5-5-3 double play, but the ball deflected off his glove and rolled into left field to allow Rooker to score from second and J.J. Bleday to take third.
Langeliers connected on a 1-2 pitch from Blackburn and blew the game open with a three run home run into the left field stands to give Oakland a 7-1 lead. It was the 22nd home run of the season for the A’s catcher who was certainly familiar with what Blackburn threw.
Blackburn pitched four innings and gave up 7 runs, 6 earned, on 6 hits in with two walks, as he took his first loss with the Mets.
Blackburn was asked if he was nervous facing his old team for the first time. “Alot of emotions with that really. Not necessarily nervous, I was more excited,” he said. “Kinda got outside of myself there which I think kinda led to getting a little sporadic throughout the night, but at the end of the day, I just didn’t get the job done.”
The Mets offense put together a little rally in the fifth that temporarily got them back in the game.
Francisco Lindor, who had two more hits and is 12 for his last 31 (.387) during a 7-game hitting streak, led off with a single. After Brandon Nimmo walked, Jesse Winker lined an RBI double to right center to make it 7-2.
The struggling Pete Alonso ended an 0 for 15 skid with a two run single to center make it 7-4. Vientos walked to knock Boyle out of the game and put runners on first and second with nobody out.
The Mets appeared ready to close the gap even more but Austin Adams replaced Boyle and got McNeil, Iglesias and Francisco Alvarez on two strikeouts sandwiched around a foul pop out to end the rally.
The 33-year old Adams signed a one year deal with the Mets during the off season but was DFA’d in spring training after Jake Diekman was signed. Adams was eventually traded to Oakland and he enjoyed sticking it to his old team. After striking out Alvarez to cut short the rally, the right hander came off the mound and appeared to mock the Mets’ “OMG” celebration.
“He [Adams] got out of a big jam. We’re familiar with him, he was with us in spring training. He came in, threw strikes, got three outs,” Mendoza said.
The A’s added two runs in the sixth against reliever Jose Butto that may have been aided in part by a challenge of the slide rule.
With one out and Butler at first, Rooker hit a grounder to third. Iglesias threw to second to get the force but McNeil’s relay to first was late. The Mets second baseman felt Butler may have violated the slide rule and interfered with the throw. The Mets challenged the call at second but the review took at least five or six minutes and Butto did not throw any warm ups during that time.
When play resumed, Butto walked Bleday on four straight pitches to put runners at first and second. Andujar then hit a ground ball past the first base bag that Alonso dove to knock down, but he couldn’t come up with it as Rooker scored to make it 8-4. Alonso slammed his face into the ground trying to make the play and came up with a cut on his nose and blood on his lip, but he was okay and stayed in the game.
Langeliers followed with an RBI double for his third hit of the game and his fourth run batted in as the A’s took a 9-4 lead.
“I think he [Butto] was just off,” Mendoza said. “It’s not the first time he has to wait when we’re challenging a play.”
The Mets scored all four of their runs off of the starter Boyle, but the A’s bullpen tossed five scoreless innings with Adams being awarded the win against the team that gave up on him in spring training for a pitcher they eventually gave up on during the season.
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