Mets bullpen blows another late lead as injuries mount in loss to Phillies
PHILADELPHIA — Taijuan Walker’s balky right knee held up Monday night, but his shoulder wasn’t so fortunate.
After the second inning finished at Citizens Bank Park, the Mets right-hander summoned the trainer in the dugout and headed to the tunnel, never to return.
The diagnosis was right shoulder irritation for Walker, and a potential second hit for the Mets rotation in 1 ½ weeks. It became a night of hurting all the way around for the Mets, who blew a four-run, eighth-inning lead and lost 5-4 to the Phillies.
Didi Gregorius’ RBI double against Seth Lugo in the eighth was the backbreaker, completing a five-run inning for the Phillies in which they also tagged left-hander Joely Rodriguez. The collapse occurred after Trevor May, who began his second inning of work in the eighth, departed with arm soreness.
Walker and May are scheduled to receive MRI exams on Tuesday. Walker will return to New York for his exam.
“I heard some good things from them afterwards, but you really don’t know until you get in there and let [doctors] look at it,” manager Buck Showalter said.
Walker, who departed early from his final spring training start with knee discomfort he attributed to a change in mechanics in his lower half, indicated he felt soreness in the shoulder on a slider he threw in the second inning.
“It was pretty sore when I came out, we did some testing and waited a couple of innings and retested it and the strength was a lot better,” Walker said. “Right now it feels pretty good, it’s not as sore right now.”
Walker underwent January surgery to remove damaged cartilage from his right knee and started camp behind schedule.
Already with Jacob deGrom shelved (likely until at least late May) with a stress reaction on his right scapula, the Mets may have to dig deeper into their rotation depth less than a week into the season.
Tylor Megill took deGrom’s spot and David Peterson, who pitched four scoreless innings in relief Monday, would be a prime candidate for starting duty if Walker needs an IL stint.
May pitched a scoreless seventh, but was in discomfort after walking Alec Bohm to start the eighth and departed. The right-hander said he had been treating biceps/triceps soreness for about a week and “pushing through” and feeling good recently.
“I was fine in the first inning and when you sit and it’s cold outside that’s usually when you have to find a way to fire it back up,” said May, who didn’t pitch more than one inning in any appearance last season. “It’s been a little bit since I have done it. I went out there and it really didn’t loosen up.”
It marked a second straight game that crumbled for the Mets in the eighth inning. A day earlier, the Nationals scored three times in the eighth and won 4-3, with Chasen Shreve and Trevor Williams allowing the runs. But Pete Alonso’s throwing error, which followed a late, underhanded throw to the plate on a safety squeeze was a larger factor. For both games the Mets were without Edwin Diaz, who has been on the bereavement list since Saturday. He could return as soon as Tuesday.
On Monday, Rodriguez allowed a pinch-hit single to Johan Camargo after May departed and RBI fielder’s choice to Kyle Schwarber before J.T. Realmuto smashed a two-run homer to left field. Lugo walked Nick Castellanos and surrendered a game-tying double to Rhys Hoskins before Gregorius doubled in the go-ahead run.
The Mets sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning in jumping to a 3-0 lead against lefty Ranger Suarez. Two of the runs scored with two outs.
Starling Marte hit a shot off Suarez’s glove that caromed to Bohm at third base. Bohm’s hurried throw to first was wild, giving the Mets runners on second and third. After Suarez recorded an out, Alonso hit into an RBI fielder’s choice. Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha each delivered an RBI single before the inning was complete.
Bohm had a dreadful night at third base, committing three throwing errors on his first seven chances. After the error on the Marte deflection, he threw away a grounder by James McCann leading off the second and another from Alonso in the third.
Francisco Lindor’s RBI single with two outs in the seventh extended the Mets’ lead to 4-0 after McCann had walked leading off the inning and stole second.
“I thought Francisco’s add-on run was big for us,” Showalter said. “But we needed a couple of more.”
