Mets stunned in 11-9 loss to Mariners after bullpen's late meltdown

The Mets suffered yet another heartbreaking loss on Friday night, this time losing in a slugfest to the Seattle Mariners, 11-9.

Here are the takeaways…

-Fresh off his great series offensively against the Atlanta Braves, Francisco Lindor was at it again against Luis Castillo and the Mariners. With terrific numbers against Castillo, Lindor wasted no time and smacked a leadoff home run to the opposite field. It was the seventh time this year that he's led off the game with a long ball, which ties Curtis Granderson (twice) for the most in franchise history.

Lindor's night hardly ended there, though. The shortstop came through again in the second inning with an RBI single to take the lead, which capped off three straight two-out hits, including Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio, that drove in two runs. All three hits also came with two strikes.

Down again in the fourth after Cal Raleigh homered in the third for an MLB-leading 46th time, Lindor flexed his muscles once more with a two-run blast, this one to the pull side, to give New York a 5-4 lead. Lindor's two home runs on the night were his 23rd and 24th of the season and showed his power to all fields.

-On the very next pitch, Juan Soto joined in on the action with a solo bomb to center field to go back-to-back with Lindor and double the Mets' lead. Just like the second inning, all three runs came with two outs after Mauricio kept the inning alive with a single to turn it over to the top of the lineup.

-Pitching for New York was Sean Manaea, who was hoping to get back on track after a couple of shaky starts in a row. The left-hander wasn't at his best, allowing four runs on six hits (two home runs) and a walk, but he matched his season-high with seven strikeouts, including one in the fourth inning that helped him escape a jam. 

Overall, Manaea went five innings — the streak continues — and, thanks to his offense, did just enough to leave the game in line for a win. That is, until disaster struck behind him.

-It started with Tyler Rogers, who allowed a run in the sixth to get Seattle to within a run. The roof caved in in the seventh, though. Bumped down an inning after a string of bad outings since getting traded to the Mets, Ryan Helsley's rough patch continued. Raleigh greeted him with a leadoff double, but after striking out Julio Rodriguez on three pitches, finishing him off with a 101 mph fastball, Helsley looked to regain his form.

However, after Eugenio Suarez tied the game with another hard-hit double, manager Carlos Mendoza pulled Helsley in favor of his lefty Brooks Raley with a couple of lefties due up. But Raley, who hadn't allowed a run since returning from the IL, couldn't stop the bleeding either. 

After allowing the inherited runner to score, Raley allowed three more runs on three hits and a walk and was only able to get one out before getting replaced by Ryne Stanek, who finally put the inning to bed. In all, the Mariners scored five runs and took a 10-6 lead in a horrendous seventh.

-With most of the high-leverage relievers already used and New York down four with six outs to play with, Frankie Montas got another chance out of the bullpen. The right-hander immediately gave up long doubles to Raleigh and Rodriguez that scored another run, but was able to get the next three outs. He loaded the bases in the ninth, but got out of it.

-Alvarez made things interesting and brought some life back into another packed but dejected Citi Field crowd with a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to get the Mets to within two runs. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough after the heart of the order went quietly in the ninth against closer Andres Muñoz.

Game MVP: Cal Raleigh

In a wild game that featured 28 hits, The Big Dumper went 3-for-5, had eight total bases, scored three runs and drove in two.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets and Mariners continue their three-game series at Citi Field on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

RHP Nolan McLean (MLB debut) will face off against RHP Bryan Woo (10-6, 3.08 ERA).

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