A near-capacity crowd filed into Citi Subject on Tuesday night time, hoping to see Pete Alonso make house run historical past.
However there wasn’t a lot offense of any type because the Mets fell, 3-2, to the Cleveland Guardians for his or her seventh loss in eight video games.
The Mets went scoreless after the second inning and didn’t handle a success after the fourth, with Cleveland retiring the Mets’ closing 14 batters to clinch a sequence victory.
“They got us today, and we’ve got to turn the page, obviously, because that was not good,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza stated.
Tyler Rogers — one of many marquee relievers the Mets acquired earlier than final week’s commerce deadline — surrendered three hits within the seventh inning, together with a two-out, go-ahead RBI single to Steven Kwan that proved to be the game-winner.
All of that put a damper on an evening by which a crowd of 39,895 cheered loudly each time Alonso got here to the plate, desperate to see the fan-favorite first baseman tie the Mets’ all-time house run report.
Alonso went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly, however he stays at 251 profession homers, one shy of Darryl Strawberry’s franchise report.
Alonso’s first-inning sac fly began the scoring for the Mets, they usually led, 2-0, after Tyrone Taylor added a second-inning RBI single in opposition to Guardians starter Logan Allen.
However Cleveland escaped additional harm within the second by turning a slick, bases-loaded double play on Francisco Lindor, with second baseman Brayan Rocchio gloving a 104.3-mph hotshot and shortstop Gabriel Arias delivering a rocket throw to first.
The Guardians then rallied in opposition to Mets starter Clay Holmes within the fourth, stringing collectively a stroll and three hits, together with a two-out RBI single by Arias that tied the sport, 2-2.
Holmes was in any other case excellent, retiring Cleveland’s first 9 batters and pitching a 1-2-3 fifth. However Mendoza pulled Holmes after 5 innings and 75 pitches with the Guardians’ No. 2-4 hitters due up for the third time.
“I knew I was going to be aggressive there,” Mendoza stated. “The game’s tied, and we were set up with our bullpen guys, and we got the matchups we wanted.”
Tuesday’s begin was the tenth in a row by which Holmes, a transformed reliever, pitched 5.1 innings or fewer. He pitched not less than six innings in seven of his first 13 begins.
“I was feeling good,” Holmes stated. “Obviously, it’s not really my call, but I think all things considered, he felt like it was best to go to the ‘pen there.”
The Mets overhauled their bullpen earlier than the commerce deadline in an try to shorten video games, however the Guardians broke by in opposition to Rogers, whom the Mets acquired from the San Francisco Giants.
Rogers retired the primary two batters of the seventh, however back-to-back singles by Rocchio and C.J. Kayfus arrange Kwan’s go-ahead grounder up the center.
It was the primary run allowed by Rogers in three appearances with the Mets.
“He’s a ground ball guy,” Mendoza stated, “and a couple of ground balls found holes.”
The Mets have now suffered 4 one-run losses of their final eight video games. They didn’t handle a baserunner Tuesday after Juan Soto drew a one-out stroll within the fifth inning in opposition to Allen.
4 relievers mixed to throw 4 excellent innings within the closing 4 frames, regardless of Cleveland being with out its star nearer, Emmanuel Clase, who’s on paid depart amid a sports-betting investigation.
“Things are not as bleak as they seem,” stated Brandon Nimmo, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. “You’re really, really close. You’re one hit away usually. … I really believe in this offense and this team. You’re going to have times where things are really tough, but you’ve got to just keep grinding and keep giving it your best each day.”
With the loss, the Mets (63-51) fell 2.5 video games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies within the Nationwide League East.
The Mets will try to stop a sweep on Wednesday afternoon, with David Peterson (7-4, 2.83 ERA) set to match up in opposition to Cleveland’s Gavin Williams (6-4, 3.33 ERA).
Initially Printed: August 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM EDT
