Flushing, NY: Dinelson Lamet made his second career start against the Mets Wednesday night at Citi Field. The San Diego Padres Right-hander made his ML debut in May of 2017 at Citi Field and tossed 5.0 innings of 1-run ball, allowed three hits, struck out eight in the Padres 4-3 win.
The 27-year old, Santiago Dominican Republic, struggled in the first inning. His slider needed adjustment and a long inning resulted in the Mets leaving the bases loaded.
“I got better especially with the slider,” he said through an interpreter. The pitch got Amed Rosario to fly out to right that ended an inning for the Mets that got one run home.
And that was the beginning of four good innings for Lamet. He did not get the decision in his fourth start of the season. But the Mets could not figure a way to get that slider or get to four relievers out of the Padres bullpen in a 7-2 loss.
“Solid slider, got through four,” manager Andy Green said. “We want him to pitch deeper, It’s up to him.”
These are the young San Diego Padres. They do hit a good amount of home runs and get a win when they hit one at home or on the road. Wednesday night they did not need the home run ball. The young pitching of the Padres, in particular their bullpen shut down the Mets,
And they shut down Robinson Cano who had a career three-home run game the night before in a Mets win. Cano went 0-for-4 and left three on base.
Lamet is on a pitch count as he rebounds from Tommy John surgery. He threw 80 pitches, allowed two runs and struck out four. He worked hard and that impressed his manager. Lamet is a part of this continued rebuilding in San Diego with a young pitching staff that hopefully will get them to the top by next year.
The Padres scored three times in the third, Two errors charged to Mets left fielder Dominic Smith also helped their cause. This was another continued failure of the Mets to sustain momentum after their win Tuesday night that saw Cano make history as the first second baseman at 36-years of age to hit three home runs in a game
The numbers at the plate for the Mets are not good, Todd Frazier, rumored to be on the trading block before the July 31 deadline, went 0-for-4, and went down three times on strikes. Frazier has three hits in his last 24 at bats.
And it’s worse for Smith, 9-for his last 50 at bats that included one hit to shallow center off a Lamet slider in that first inning.
Rosario, on the other hand has been consistent, though left three men on also in the Mets 7th inning.
As for the Padres, they go for the series win Thursday afternoon. They may not see October baseball but their at bats are showing potential as they continue to make a push for next year.
NOTES: Manny Machado has not has an impact in the first two games at Citi Field but reached base twice… Rookie Fernando Tatis, in contention for NL Rookie of the Year honors, has hit safely in six straight games, 10-27 with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and three runs scored. He ranks second among rookies with 26 multi-hit games trailing the Mets Pete Alonso with 28.
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