PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies are supposed to be the team in the NL East whose bullpen costs them games. But it was the Mets on Monday night who found themselves in such a position. Again.
In the span of a half-inning at Citizens Bank Park, the Mets’ bullpen melted down for the second straight night, giving up five runs in a disastrous eighth inning leading to a 5-4 loss to the Phillies.
After keeping Trevor May in to start the eighth, Mets manager Buck Showalter pulled him following a walk to Alec Bohm that left May frustrated and dealing with arm fatigue. Showalter then went to left-hander Joely Rodriguez, who proceeded to give up a single, an RBI fielder’s choice and a two-run home run to J.T. Realmuto.
Things got worse from there.
“That walk and that flare by [Johan] Camargo hurt us,” Showalter said. “That was another great pitch, but we’ve been finding some [luck], too.”
Seth Lugo would come into the game one batter later, after Rodriguez struck out Bryce Harper, but the Phillies tagged him for two more runs. He walked Nick Castellanos, then gave up consecutive RBI doubles to Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius — and with that, a 4-0 Mets lead had evaporated into a second straight loss.
“He’s been a really good pitcher for us for a long time,” Showalter said of Lugo. “He gets one. It just wasn’t his night. He made a good pitch. Some balls uncharacteristically were hit hard off of him, but he’s a good one. I’m glad we’ve got him.”
Lugo didn’t speak to reporters after the game, with a team representative saying he had left the stadium.
Now, the Mets stare down adversity for the first time this season.
They have just lost two games in a row, both due to a struggling bullpen. They also might have just temporarily lost a body from that group in May, and could lose another if Taijuan Walker’s shoulder injury is serious enough to miss a start.
The team will likely get Edwin Diaz back from bereavement leave on Tuesday — Showalter said his flight was scheduled to land Monday night in New York — but the bullpen is dotted with question marks.
“It’d be nice to get [Diaz] back,” Showalter said. “It’s been tough these last two or three days without him.”
Still, even though so much changed for the Mets this offseason, Monday night felt quite familiar.
“We try to stay in reality,” Showalter said. “But this one hurts.”
