Mets' bats can't produce big hit late in frustrating 4-3 loss to Diamondbacks

The Mets saw their home winning streak end at eight games, as they frustratingly fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3, on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

Here are the takeaways…

— New York employed a bullpen game, with Huascar Brazobán serving as the opener for a second time this season. The right-hander resembled his efficient self, striking out three with one walk allowed across two scoreless frames (26 pitches). It was quite an impressive April for Brazobán, who owns a sharp 1.40 ERA through 12 appearances.

— It didn’t take long for the Mets to disrupt the rhythm of D-backs ace Corbin Burnes, but their first-inning threat didn’t yield any runs. A one-out, bases-loaded jam set up by a Francisco Lindor double and a pair of walks was all for naught, as Burnes escaped trouble by striking out Starling Marte and getting Jeff McNeil to ground out. Lindor is now hitting a league-best .483 leading off the first.

— Just when it looked like Burnes had regained composure after his shaky first, Mark Vientos punished him in the third with a two-out solo home run to left, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. The third baseman’s fourth blast of the season traveled 371 feet. Vientos had another chance to inflict damage on Burnes in the fifth with two runners on, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play.

— The Mets had their chances to make Burnes pay for mistakes, but the veteran right-hander ultimately limited the damage to just the Vientos homer across six innings. He didn’t have his ace stuff — he walked five batters for the first time since 2022 — but the quality start was earned due to New York leaving seven runners on during those frames.

— Brandon Waddell was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to pitch specifically in bulk relief, and his first taste of the majors since 2021 was undoubtedly sweet. The 30-year-old righty logged 4.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts and retired the last eight batters he faced. Waddell’s debut with the Mets ended with a standing ovation from the crowd, but the cheering in the seventh inning didn’t last.

— The positive vibes from Waddell’s performance were quickly squashed by Ryne Stanek, as he allowed Arizona’s bottom-three hitters to produce a two-out, three-single rally for a pair of runs. There’s now a pattern of trouble with Stanek, who’s relinquished the lead in each of his last three appearances.

— New York had an opportunity to knot the score in the seventh, as Tyrone Taylor led off the inning with a single and a steal of second that was initially ruled a caught-stealing and required a replay challenge. But the big hit never arrived — D-backs reliever Jalen Beeks worked out of the jam by inducing a popout, flyout, and strikeout from the top of the Mets’ order.

— Brandon Nimmo, who drove in a mammoth nine runs on Monday but missed Tuesday’s game due to illness, was called upon to pinch-hit in the eighth with two outs and a runner on first. The move didn’t pay off, as he grounded out to third. Chris Devenski, in his second inning of work, allowed a leadoff walk, a double, and a pair of sac flies that resulted in two more runs for Arizona in the top of the ninth.

— New York finally showed signs of life in the bottom frame, trailing by three against D-backs closer Justin Martinez. The rally began with a solo homer from Taylor, and after Lindor and Juan Soto worked walks, Arizona opted to pull Martinez for Ryan Thompson. More chaos ensued when Pete Alonso was plunked by a pitch and Jesse Winker drove in a run with a groundout to first, cutting the Mets’ deficit to one. But the hopes of a win disappeared when Francisco Alvarez grounded out to third with two outs and the bases juiced.

— The Mets left a whopping 13 runners on base, and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. In spite of these ugly numbers, the offense nearly pulled off an unexpected win.

Game MVP: Geraldo Perdomo

Perdomo entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, and he won the battle against Stanek by driving in two with a single to left. He then produced a sac fly in the ninth, bumping his RBI total to three in the series.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets (21-10) will wrap up their brief homestand against the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon, with a matinee scheduled for 1:10 p.m..

Kodai Senga (3-1, 1.26 ERA) is slated to take the mound, opposite Zac Gallen (1-4, 5.57 ERA).

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