scheduled tribe. Petersburg, Fla. – The long ball was no substitute for the Mets’ lack of length in another area on Saturday.
Long-time running back Joey Lucchesi, the opener Drew Smith, burst through a disastrous fourth inning in which the Mets never recovered from a straight 12–5 loss to the Rays 12–5 at Tropicana Field.
The Mets, who blasted season-high three homers, trailed by one run in the eighth before Jacob Barnes and the Juries Familia, allowing five hits and two walks, turning the game into a fugitive.
Lefty Lucchesi only lasted 1 / third innings, starting the third, and allowing four earned runs on three hits and one walk, and saw his ERA jump to 9.19. It was the fourth ineffective performance in his final five from Luchesi, which came last winter from the Padres in a three-way trade that also included the Pirates.
Until horses like Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco return from the injured list – both are still weeks away – the Mets’ options are limited to filling the rotation. As it stands, the Mets are using a four-man set until Jacob DeGrom returns from IL, as soon as Friday.
The most obvious option if the Mets decide to end the Luchesi experiment is Jordan Yamamoto from Triple-A Syracuse.
Francisco Lindor gave his team a pulse with a third homer of the Mets’ game to pull it to within 6-5 in the eighth, but it turned ugly in the bottom of the inning. Barnes allowed two hits and a walk in that eighth inning before Familia entered and Yandy Diaz’s chopper bounce over Lindor, a draw-in, for two runs. Joey Wendall followed with another chop double for two runs. Another two runs came with a two-out double from Brett Phillips.
Smith gave the Mets two solid innings as a starter, giving them only one unearned run.
Diaz went ahead of the fourth and Wendall’s double gave the Rays a rally. Manuel Margot delivered an RBI single for the first run of the inning, before Adams hit a hard grounder to the left of second base, almost rolling over the warning track. A two-run double tied it at 4-4 and Rage did not finish. Sean Reid-Foley replaced Luchesi with two outs and immediately handed an RBI double to Austin Meadows. The Rays took a 6-4 lead on Randy Arrozzarena’s RBI single.
The Rays stole a run in the first period when Diaz raced home from third on a throwing error from Tomas Nido, who was trying to nail Wendall into trying to steal another.
Jose Peraza’s first homer in a Mets uniform – a three-run blast against Shane McClanahan in the second – led to a 3–1 lead. Dominic Smith and James McCann both singled in the first inning from Peraza, with two outs, clearing the left field fence.
An innings later, Pete Alonso launched a solo homer on his homecoming weekend. Alonso, who grew up in Tampa and still lives in the area, leads the Mets in homers with six. This was his first blast in 16 games, ending his long career drought.
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