Luis Severino, poor defense doom Mets in loss to Atlanta in opening game of pivotal series
Mets pitcher Luis Severino, left, and catcher Francisco Alvarez, right, scramble for a ball in the infield in the third inning of a game against the Atlanta on Tuesday in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Jason Allen
ATLANTA — All summer and into autumn, the Mets rose to the occasion each time circumstances demanded it, reviving their season and thriving in a long, tense postseason push. They’ve had big hits from unlikely heroes, bona fide excellence from a ragtag rotation, a cool head and steady hand from a rookie manager and, it seems, just a few blessings from the baseball gods.
On the precipice of the playoffs, though, the Mets will need to rise once more to actually reach October. Their 5-1 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night contained little drama but added plenty to the rest of this week.
In the series opener and a huge swing game, the Mets did nothing well. Luis Severino pitched poorly (four innings, four runs), the hitters barely hit at all (four hits) and the defense made several misplays (including one error).
“This is late in the season, it means a lot, so things are more emphasized,” Brandon Nimmo said. “But in a regular season, you know that games like this are going to happen. Sometimes there’s going to be days like this. Tomorrow you start fresh.”
Atlanta, conversely, appeared to snap back to regular form after weeks of mediocrity. Rookie righthander Spencer Schwellenbach tossed seven efficient innings, holding the Mets to a lone run, via Mark Vientos’ homer in the seventh. Michael Harris II finished 3-for-4 — a triple shy of the cycle — and made a sliding catch in centerfield.
And so the Mets (87-70) and Atlanta (86-71) are separated by just one game in the National League wild-card standings, with two contests left in the series (and five in the season). With significant rain expected Wednesday and Thursday, it was not clear when those games would be played.
Atlanta lefthander Chris Sale, the NL Cy Young Award favorite, is scheduled to pitch opposite David Peterson on Wednesday.
Had the Mets taken this first game, they would have been up three with five to play, an advantage that would have been difficult to blow.
“We’re going to come ready for the challenge,” Nimmo said. “We’ve had a lot of challenges in front of us this year and we’ve been able to overcome. It’s just another one.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza said: “[Each game] mattered a couple of months ago, every one of them. We’ve been able to find a way to get back and flush it and be ready for the next day, and that’s what we’ll do here. We still got two important games here. We still got a chance to win the series. That’s how we will approach it.”
And Vientos: “We had a bad day.”
The game turned in the third, when Severino gave up three runs and threw 33 pitches. But Mendoza cited a different frame of influence: the bottom of the first, when shortstop Luisangel Acuna bobbled a potential double play, forcing Severino to throw 25 pitches in the scoreless inning.
The third opened with an awkward sequence: Orlando Arcia rolled a weak ground ball up the third-base line. Severino and catcher Francisco Alvarez converged. Severino picked it up. Alvarez almost ran into him. Severino threw the ball down the rightfield line. Arcia ended up on second.
“That kind of got them going,” Mendoza said.
Harris doubled for an obvious run and Ozzie Albies singled for a less obvious one. On the latter play, rightfielder Starling Marte overthrew the cutoff man, allowing Albies to advance to second. Instead of getting erased on a would-be double-play grounder by the next batter, Albies scored on Ramon Laureano’s two-out single.
“Tough night,” Severino said. “I wish I could’ve done a better job. They did a good job putting the bat on the ball.”
The Mets have lost consecutive games just once over the past six weeks.
“[Atlanta is] a good team,” Nimmo said. “They’re not just going to roll over and die for you. We know that we’re up for a challenge.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
