Arlington TX– The defending World Series Champions have broken the Mets seven game win streak and get over a five game skid in the series rubber match. Pete Alonso roped his 16th home run of the year to give the Mets a two run lead late, but the bullpen was the deciding factor in today’s game. After Sean Manaea gave up an RBI double in the sixth, Sean Reid-Foley immediately gave up an RBI single that tied the game and Drew Smith gave up a two run home run in the seventh to give the Rangers a two run lead.
“Baseball is highs and lows. I experienced a pretty good high the first day and pretty bad low the last day. Try not to ride the roller coaster I know I am going to be out there in a couple of days and get another good outing under my belt and move on,” Smith said.
Something to note from Manaea’s start, after the first inning where he gave up four consecutive walks, he kept the Rangers hit less up until the sixth inning. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza immediately went up to Manaea after the first inning and had a firm conversation with him.
“Mendy and Alvy took me aside and said now we go, and motivated me from there. From there on it was to throw the ball down the middle and see what they can do with it. It was a huge difference, not trying to shy away from contact and just throwing it to let them do what they were going to do,” Manaea said.
While the win streak comes to a close it is going to be very important to see how the team bounces back. On Friday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs rookie sensation Shota Imanaga will make his second start against the Mets this year. Imanaga dominated back in May pitching seven innings, giving up zero runs and striking out seven. It was the start of a brutal month for the Mets, but this team is now capable of making Imanaga uncomfortable.
“We are a good team… After what we’ve been through, especially the month of May, for us to play good baseball, it shows that we’ve got a good team and we’ve got guys there that are gonna continue to compete,” Mendoza said.
Jose Quintana will open the Cubs series which features a Sunday Night Baseball series finale. A massive series for the Mets as the Cubs currently hold a record of 36-39 and are in the heart of the National League Wild Card race.