Maybe the Mets should petition to move to The Bronx.
After starting the week by scoring 21 runs in two games at the Stadium, the Mets returned to Queens and looked like they left their bats on the other side of the RFK Bridge.
The Mets failed to score a run in the two Subway Series games at Citi Field, getting shut out 1-0 Thursday night after losing 4-0 on Wednesday. The Mets went 7-for-59 in the two games with 22 strikeouts. This came after hitting six home runs at Yankee Stadium.
It was understandable when Masahiro Tanaka shut the Mets down on Wednesday, but little-known rookie Chase Whiltey making his major league debut?
The Mets managed just two hits off Whitley, and the Yankees bullpen held them to one additional hit. At one point, the Yankees retired nine Mets in a row, including seven straight via strikeouts — six from Dellin Betances and one from Adam Warren.
“Not good obviously,” was how third baseman David Wright evaluated the Mets offense. “I think that we faced obviously some guys that threw the ball really well tonight, but at the same time we gave ourselves a couple innings with guys in scoring positions with two outs but very rarely have we put ourselves with runners in scoring position with less than two outs.That’s kind of where you want to be. We haven’t quite been able to do that.”
Eric Young Jr., who had been such a sparkplug at Yankee Stadium, disappeared at Citi Field. He went 0-for-4 and left five men on base Thursday. Chris Young went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. It looks like it’s time for manager Terry Collins to get Juan Lagares back in the lineup.
The Mets are left wondering about their cavernous home ballpark again. After seeing what they could do with the short fences at Yankee Stadium, they returned to Citi Field, where they never seem to hit.
“We’ve talked about it a hundred times,” Collins said. “To be successful in this ballpark you can’t be a one-dimensional player. You look at all the players who have had success here it’s because they hit the ball from line to line and Dan Murphy is the one who sticks out as much as any. His offensive numbers in this park are very, very good because he doesn’t just try to pull balls.”
Collins said he was not happy with the Mets taking seven called third strikes, including six from the sixth inning on.
“You’ve got to get up there and battle,” Collins said. “You’ve got to battle real hard and try to put some wood on the ball and foul some stuff off until you get something you can handle.”