Bo Bichette’s 5-RBI day wasted as Mets bullpen blows lead

Bo Bichette went 2-for-3 with a double, a three-run homer, and 5 RBIs. The New York Mets led 5-1 heading into the eighth. They tied the Marlins 5-5 anyway.

Colton Cosper entered in the eighth with a four-run cushion and gave back all of it. Brian Navarreto doubled to start the inning, Starlyn Caba singled him to third, and then Jacob Jenkins-Cowart — a depth player getting spring reps — hit a three-run homer to right-center to make it 5-5. Three runs, one out, one bad inning. The Mets did not score again.

Bo Bichette Carried the Offense

Bichette had the kind of game that should headline a win. In the third, with Tyrone Taylor and Marcus Semien already on base, he roped a sharp double to left that scored both runners and put the Mets up 2-0. That was enough for Sean Manaea, who worked 4 clean innings, allowed no hits, and struck out 4 before handing a 2-1 game to the bullpen in the fifth.

The cushion got bigger in the seventh. Lindor singled, Semien walked, and Bichette unloaded on a pitch to right field for a 3-run shot that stretched the lead to 5-1. 5 RBIs, 2 extra-base hits, a walk. On a different day — with a different eighth inning — that is a 6-2 win and Bichette is the easy headline.

Craig Kimbrel and Tobias Myers each held the line after Manaea exited. Kimbrel worked a clean fifth despite walking one. Myers allowed a run in the seventh on a Ruiz RBI single but escaped further damage. The bullpen held at 5-2 entering the eighth.

Then Cosper came in.

The Bullpen Handed It Back

The Jenkins-Cowart homer was the moment, but the frame around it matters. Navarreto reached on a flyball double to center. Caba followed with a line drive single. A 5-2 lead with 1 out should not be a crisis. Cosper walked nobody — the damage came entirely from contact — but a 3-run shot to tie a spring game you led by 4 is not a small thing when you are trying to make a roster.

Zach Peek worked a clean ninth. Hoss Brewer did not allow an earned run in his 0.2 innings. The structure of the bullpen was fine until it was not. Cosper now carries an 11.57 ERA this spring, and his role heading into the regular season just got harder to define.

The Mets finish tied at 5. Bichette had a great game. It did not matter.