Mets' unexpected bullpen game goes south in 9th

NEW YORK -- The Mets ended up having a bullpen game on Sunday afternoon after starter Jose Quintana went four innings, and the relievers were dominant until the ninth. Left-hander Jake Diekman was given a chance to save his second game of the season, but he blew it as the D-backs edged the Mets, 5-4, at Citi Field.

The two teams split the four-game series, while New York had a homestand to forget, going 3-7. The club now travels to Washington D.C. to play a three-game series against the Nationals before flying to London to play a two-game set against the Phillies.

“Not good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We have to play better, especially here at home in front of our fan base. We have to turn the page. Now we go on a road trip, and we have to start getting some W’s.”

How dominant was the bullpen before the ninth inning? The first four relievers -- Dedniel Núñez, Danny Young, Reed Garrett and Adam Ottavino -- combined to pitch four scoreless innings while striking out nine batters.

For Mendoza, there wasn’t a thought about giving Ottavino, who threw a clean eighth inning, an extra frame even though the team was going to face Ketel Marte in the ninth.

The switching-hitting Marte is much stronger from the right side of the plate. Through Sunday, Marte is 28-for-90 (.311) with nine home runs and 17 RBIs against left-handed pitching as opposed to hitting .245 (35-for-143) with three home runs and 15 RBIs against right-handers.

“Obviously, Otto threw his inning,” Mendoza said. “I decided to go with a clean inning knowing [the D-backs] were going to pinch-hit. At some point, you are going to have a match up you didn't want. It didn’t work.”

Although right-hander Drew Smith (right shoulder soreness) was activated from the injured list before Sunday’s game, he was available only in an emergency situation. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley entered the game after New York fell behind.

With Diekman on the mound for the ninth and the Mets leading, 4-3, Gabriel Moreno led off as a pinch-hitter for Tucker Barnhart and doubled to right field. Marte followed and hit a 2-2 sweeper over the center-field fence to give the D-backs a one-run lead. It was his second home run of the day.

“I don’t think I’m executing well enough in certain situations,” Diekman said. “The homer -- just two more inches in, it might be a swing and miss. It might be a double down the line, but they would score one run. It’s different.”

The Mets were hoping to get length from Quintana, but the left-hander was shaky, giving them four innings and allowing three runs on four hits, three walks and two hit batsmen. Those runs came in the first two innings. It was Long Ball City in the first frame as Marte and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit solo home runs. An inning later, Eugenio Suárez scored on a groundout by Kevin Newman.

Quintana left with a 4-3 lead but didn’t figure in the decision after throwing 84 pitches (47 strikes). Mendoza didn’t even think about leaving Quintana in the game for another inning.

“He struggled. He had to battle today,” Mendoza said. “Again, 84 pitches through four innings. He had to work. At times, he was a little bit too fine. Then, obviously, the hit-by-pitches. They made him work.”

The Mets scored all four of their runs off right-hander Brandon Pfaadt in the third inning. Brandon Nimmo highlighted the scoring with a two-run triple.

“We were piecing it together all the way until the ninth inning, when we couldn’t get the last three [outs],” Mendoza said.