At this point, it looks like the Mets are trying not to score rather than win ballgames.
Of course, that isn’t the case, but the team’s run of ineptitude trying to take advantage of scoring situations continued on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta in a 4-0 loss to the Braves.
The Mets went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, adding to their season-long woes of not being able to get runs on the board. They were 18-for-79 (.228) entering Sunday’s matinee.
In total, they left 13 men on base, including two in their final turn at-bat in the ninth that saw a lead-off single by Andres Gimenez and a walk to Brandon Nimmo off Braves closer Mark Melanson.
But Jeff McNeil, who went 3-for-5 on the day, struck out on three pitches before Pete Alonso continued his dubious slump by polishing off an 0-for-5 day with three strikeouts with a flyout to right field. Melanson finished off the Braves’ third-straight win of the series, and fifth-straight overall, by getting Michael Conforto to ground out.
It was an accurate representation of their day, which was littered with missed opportunities almost immediately.
Right at the start, in the first inning, Robinson Cano — the Mets’ hottest bat — hit a sharp grounder up the middle with the bases loaded and one out that was turned into an inning-ending double play.
Two innings later, they couldn’t get McNeil home after he led off the third with a double. The same happened in the sixth when a Tomas Nido double play spoiled a JD Davis lead-off double.
Such struggles spoiled another strong outing by rookie David Peterson — who dazzled in his MLB debut last week against the Boston Red Sox.
His numbers were not as strong as they were at Fenway Park, but the 24-year-old southpaw kept the Braves in check over six innings, allowing three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts.
The Braves nabbed a pair of runs off Peterson in the third when Ronald Acuna Jr. was walked with the bases loaded before Freddie Freeman’s groundout scored another.
In the third, Johan Camargo took Peterson out of Truist Park with his first home run of the year.
The Braves would tack on a fourth run in the eighth after Freeman drove in Ronald Acuna with a single.
