NY Mets scored 1 run in 18 innings and got swept by Colorado

The NY Mets scored 1 run across 18 innings on Sunday and were swept at home by the Colorado Rockies. Final scores: 3-1 and 3-0. It was the kind of afternoon that doesn’t have a flattering explanation.

Game 1 was winnable. Nolan McLean was sharp for 5 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7, and the Mets had chances. Bo Bichette walked, Luis Robert Jr. walked, and Mark Vientos singled to load the bases in the first inning with nobody out. The Mets scored zero runs. Marcus Semien struck out. Brett Baty was called out on strikes after an ABS challenge overturned ball four. Inning over.

Tyrone Taylor tied the game with a solo home run in the fifth. That was the last time the Mets touched home plate in Game 1.

The 6th inning broke it. Huascar Brazobán came in with runners on and gave up an RBI groundout, then got two outs before getting out of the frame — but the damage was done. In the 8th, the Mets put Bichette, Juan Soto, and Francisco Alvarez on base with two outs and the bases loaded. Mark Vientos struck out swinging. Final: 3-1.

Game 2 Was Worse

Kodai Senga lasted 2.2 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, walked 3 batters, and surrendered a 2-run homer to Hunter Goodman in the 3rd that effectively ended the game before the Mets ever got going. His ERA now sits at 9.00 through 4 starts. That number needs to come down fast, and Sunday didn’t offer any reason to think it will on its own.

Carl Edwards Jr. bailed out the bullpen situation with 3.1 scoreless innings and 5 strikeouts, which was the lone bright spot in a 3-0 loss. Luke Weaver threw a clean inning. Brooks Raley threw a clean inning. Devin Williams struck out 2 in a clean 9th.

The Mets were blanked in Game 2, going scoreless across 9 innings. Ronny Mauricio, Carson Benge, and MJ Melendez each had a hit. Tommy Pham went 0-for-2 before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Luis Torrens went 0-for-2 in Game 1. Across both games, the Mets went 10-for-62 with runners in scoring position converting at a level that bordered on historic futility.

The Rockies came into Sunday at 12-16. They left having swept a home doubleheader against a Mets team with genuine roster ambitions. At 9-19, New York is in fifth place in the NL East, and the margin for self-correction is shrinking. If Senga can’t stabilize his starts and the lineup can’t manufacture runs against middling pitching, this team’s ceiling gets a lot lower in a hurry.