Marcus Stroman struggles, Mets lose again as injuries pile up

The New York Mets lost again Sunday, falling to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1. The loss marks their third straight as they were swept in the series. The memory of their seven-game winning streak is now seemingly out the window.

The pitching was bad and the bats were non-existent throughout the series, getting outscored 22-8 overall. The issues on the mound, at least to this degree, came as somewhat of a surprise. As a team, the Mets were top-five in ERA and allowed the fewest home runs. Marcus Stroman gave up three today alone.

To make matters worse, the team was just 1-11 with runners in scoring position and had just 16 hits in the series, bringing their season average to .231.

While the woes shouldn’t be glossed over, they aren’t the major takeaway from today’s series finale. Instead, injuries have stolen the spotlight.

Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil both left today’s game in the first inning due to hamstring tightness. Conforto’s is the right, McNeil’s is the left. Ironically enough, they both injured themselves running to first base.

McNeil, who left with the injury after beating out an infield single to lead off the game, had the only hit for the Mets until the sixth inning. In the sixth inning, the only bright spot of the day happened.

Patrick Mazeika, who came in as Jeff McNeil’s replacement, recorded his first MLB hit with his first home run. Although that was Mazeika’s first hit, it comes after he collected two walk-offs earlier this month.

If Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto are forced to miss any time, they will join an already substantial list of important pieces the New York Mets are missing. They would join Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Davis, Albert Almora Jr., Luis Guillorme and Jacob DeGrom, although he should be back sooner rather than later.

While the injuries are today’s headlines, they aren’t the reason for the recent struggles, per se. The Mets will look to get back on track Monday night in Atlanta.