The New York Mets bullpen was the main reason for their success in the last seven wins, but the Tampa Bay Rays found a way to crack the code. Their rallies in the eighth and ninth inning culminated in a Brett Phillips walk-off single to give the Rays a 3-2 win and end the Mets winning streak.
.@JRvillar6 went pop at the Trop. ? pic.twitter.com/UIRK0ErQ9O
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 15, 2021
David Peterson bounced back in a major way from his 1.2 inning outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Peterson made it through 7.1 innings, holding the Rays to two runs on four hits while striking out nine. His two-seam fastball has movement and velocity we have not seen this season, and it helped set up his secondary pitches. Peterson retired 17 in a row at one point but ran out of steam in the eighth inning.
Mike Zunino led off with a homer, Kevin Padlo followed with a double, and Peterson left the game after striking out Brett Phillips. Trevor May followed and did not look like his dominant self as he allowed a Manuel Margot double to tie the game at two. Margot lifted his career average against the Mets to .388 by finding another way to torture Mets pitching. May kept the game tied by striking out Austin Meadows to end the inning.
Miguel Castro hoped to get the Mets to extra innings, but the Rays rally continued in the ninth. Brandon Lowe’s walk and Willy Adames seeing-eye single set up a first and third, no-out situation. Castro pitching around Zunino to load the bases for Aaron Loup to enter the game. Loup recorded a big strikeout of Joey Wendle for the second out, but Phillips attacked the first pitch cutter to single and stole the game from the Mets.
On To The Next One
By no means did the Mets bullpen get hit around, but they were not at their elite level from a majority of the season. It was a night where they needed to be perfect, and they just happened to be average. Even the elite pitchers have off nights, and there was nothing concerning coming from any of the relievers who pitched.
Tyler Glasnow lived up to his numbers by putting together another dominant start. Glasnow’s start was a three-part story with a beginning, middle, and end. He began by returning the first 14 in order and looking like he was on his way to a perfect game. In the middle, he gave up four hits in a row, including Jonathan Villar‘s two-run home run. Glasnow ended by allowing just one hit in the final three innings he pitched. He finished the night with eight stellar innings, five hits, and two allowed with 10 strikeouts.
The Mets attempt to bounce back with a bullpen game tomorrow against Rays starter Shane McClanahan. It will be an earlier 1:10 p.m. ET start from Tropicana Field.