The Mets Had Some Tough Losses in 2021
Happy New Year!
The Mets are putting together a dynamic and exciting team for the 2022 season. We need the lockout to end at some point in January, so the Mets (and all teams) can round out their roster and get operations underway in mid-February for what should be a fun campaign in 2022.
MMO’s Michael Garaffa took a look back at ten of the most exciting Mets wins of the 2021 season. In every season, there are some losses (particularly for the Mets, it seems) that kick us in the gut, that are hard to shake even after the season ends.
Since these games were months ago, it’s safe to take a look back at a few of them, and do what most fans do after a season, wonder what may have been “if only”.
July 11, Pirates at Mets
Setting the scene, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Citi Field, the last game before the All-Star break. The Mets had pleasantly surprised us for three months, entering the game with a four-game lead in the National League’s eastern division. In their previous series, Luis Rojas‘ squad had taken two-of-three from the central division-leading Brewers, a series that many said would provide a test. The Mets had passed the test.
Enter the last-place Pirates, against whom the Mets would play four games before the break, immediately followed by three games after the break. Now was the time to pile up some wins, and increase the division lead. Five or six-of-seven seemed within the realm of possibility.
The first game of the series was rained out on July 8, re-scheduled as part of a doubleheader on July 10. The Mets won the Friday, July 9 game, then split the doubleheader. As Meatloaf famously said, two out three isn’t bad.
It was time for game four of the series, time to take three-of-four, and go into the break on a high note. Aaron Loup started for New York, as the recent plethora of twin-bills had taxed the Mets’ starting pitching. The Mets put up five in the bottom of the first inning against Chase De Jong, highlighted by a two-run home run by Francisco Lindor, and a three-run shot by Michael Conforto. Surely, the Bucs would be eager to get to LaGuardia and start their mini vacation.
Pittsburgh had different ideas. Jerad Eickhoff had taken over for Loup in the third inning, and after two scoreless frames, yielded back-to-back home runs to Rodolfo Castro and Michael Perez in the fifth inning. Eickhoff found more trouble later in the inning, but Jeurys Familia bailed him out. Okay, no problem. It was 5-2 Mets, and after all, it was the Pirates.
In the top of the sixth, Castro struck again, this time off Familia, a two-run bomb, and the Mets now led 5-4. It was getting a bit uncomfortable. Miguel Castro tossed a scoreless seventh inning, while the Mets’ bats remained essentially silent since the first inning. Castro had difficulty in the eighth inning, and Edwin Diaz came on to strike out Perez and Ke’Bryan Hayes with runners on base to keep the score at 5-4. Diaz threw 18 pitches in the eighth inning, and would be asked to close the game in the ninth.
After getting the first out, Diaz surrendered a double, then got the next out. The Mets were an out away. However, John Nogowski, Ben Gamel, and Wilmer Difo put three singles together. The Pirates had the lead and went on to win the game.
July 17, Mets at Pirates
The Mets had lost the first game after the break at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, also losing Lindor to an oblique injury. It seemed that the Mets were taking out their frustrations on the Pirates on this Saturday night, when the guys in blue and orange entered play in first place by two and one-half games.
New York held a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning, with J.D. Davis leading the way slugging a pair of two-run home runs. Seth Lugo took the mound and just did not have it. The right-hander allowed five runs, with the capper being a two-out, three-run home run by Difo. The Mets still had the lead at 6-5, and increased that lead to 7-5 when Brandon Nimmo led of the ninth with a home run.
Then came the bottom of the ninth. Diaz hit his first batter and walked his second, putting the tying runs on with no outs. Diaz then struck out Gamel, and allowed an infield hit to Nogowski. The Mets’ closer struck out Gregory Polanco with the bases loaded, and it seemed that he may be able to wiggle out of trouble. Up stepped Jacob Stallings, who hit a high fly ball that kept drifting. It landed in the first row of the stands down the left-field line. It was an improbable grand slam, estimated to have roughly a three percent chance of being hit based on exit velocity and launch angle. The Pirates had walked the Mets off 9-7, and the seven-game, two-city series was now 4-2 in Pittsburgh’s favor.
September 14, Cardinals at Mets
Going into this game, the Mets were five games behind the Braves, in third place in the division. Time for a division championship had all but run out, and the Mets were clinging to life in the wildcard race. Over the previous weekend, the Mets had taken two-of-three from the Yankees, including the famous ‘Lindor game.” They were not able to capitalize on those good feelings, having lost their next game and the first against St. Louis by a 7-0 score.
New York jumped out to a 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, on RBI singles by Conforto and Javier Báez. Marcus Stroman held the Redbirds scoreless through three, but the Cardinals tied the game in top of the fourth inning. The Mets regained the lead at 3-2 on a Conforto sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Tyler O’Neill belted a two-run home run off Familia in the eighth inning, and St. Louis had a 4-3 lead. Báez led off the ninth with a home run to tie the game, which then went to extra innings.
The Cardinals scored three runs off Jake Reed in the eleventh inning, the things looked bleak for the Mets going into their half of the inning. Lindor began the inning as the free runner at second base, and scored with one out on a Pete Alonso double. Báez was intentionally walked, putting the tying runs on base and the winning run at the plate. Jeff McNeil grounded into a force out, then Kevin Pillar reached on an error on which a run scored. Two outs, the Mets were down by a run with two on base. Rojas called on Albert Almora to pinch hit. Almora grounded out softly. The game was over, and effectively, the Mets’ slim playoff chances were extinguished as well.
Every season has losses that stick with you as a fan. This season will have them. These three losses remain in my mind, though there are 82 other 2021 losses from which to choose. Let’s hope that the pool of choices is much more shallow in 2022.
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