Listless mets bats fall flat against red sox again in third straight loss

BOSTON — Norm! That is basically how you describe any night for the Mets lately in which the team fails to deliver with runners in scoring position. Cheers were few for the visiting team on

Tuesday, through a confluence of bad luck on well-struck balls and noncompetitive at-bats. Not even a third-inning ejection of the opposing starting pitcher helped. All of it spelled a 2-0

loss to the Red Sox on a chilly night at Fenway Park. The Mets, who a night earlier fell from first place for the first time since April 9, lost a third straight game for the first time this

season. It was their fifth loss in six games over the past week. The Mets went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position before disappearing completely over the final four innings. The

latest drought left the Mets 5-for-44 (.114) with runners in scoring position over their past six games. “Some things aren’t bouncing our way,” Brandon Nimmo said. “For a period of time we

were able to overcome and have a few things bounce our way and we could have our pitching staff keep us in games where we were able to do one or two runs. Right now, they are doing a great

job of keeping us in striking distance, but we’re just not having the big hit come through in that situation.” Clay Holmes kept the Mets in the game by allowing two earned runs on four hits

and three walks with five strikeouts over six innings. It was a fourth straight start for Holmes that lasted six innings. EXPLORE MORE The Red Sox lost starting pitcher Walker Buehler in the

third inning when he was ejected for an outburst toward plate umpire Mike Estabrook following a pitch to Juan Soto that was clearly in the strike zone but called a ball. Red Sox manager

Alex Cora also got ejected. Manager Carlos Mendoza considered it a lost opportunity in a sense for the Mets. “Especially the way [Buehler] was throwing the ball,” Mendoza said. “But I also

thought he might be on a short pitch count, coming back from injury, so we were ready for the bullpen as well. Whether it’s against Buehler, against their bullpen, we’re just going through

it right now.” Soto walked on four pitches to give the Mets runners on first and second following Buehler’s ejection, but Pete Alonso was retired before Nimmo hit a shot to deep center at

103.1 mph off the bat that was tracked by Kristian Campbell for the third out. “I clipped it just about as good as I can get it,” Nimmo said. “And with those circumstances I really did my

job there … you feel like you won the at-bat.” ------------------------- ------------------------- Mark Vientos doubled leading off the fourth but was left stranded at third after Brett

Baty’s shot was snagged by first baseman Nick Sogard for the final out. Sogard’s diving stop on Jeff McNeil’s grounder earlier in the inning also prevented the run from scoring. Holmes

dented in the fifth. Carlos Narváez homered leading off the inning for the game’s first run. Two batters later, Rafael Devers also cleared the Green Monster, pushing the Mets into a 2-0

hole. “In a tie game you can’t afford those mistakes, but there were also some good swings there,” Holmes said. It was a second straight start with multiple homers allowed by Holmes, who has

surrendered only five this season. The Mets’ defensive highlights included a clothesline throw in the second inning that nailed Sogard at the plate following a tag up at third base. “That

is probably one of the best throws I’ve seen from [Nimmo] since I have been here,” Mendoza said. “He threw it all the way to home plate there, that’s knowing the runner, where he was at in

left field, it was a pretty good throw.” Nimmo was philosophical about the Mets’ first three-game losing streak of the season. “This was a long time to go without losing three in a row,”

Nimmo said. “Last year it was the first three games, right?”