'Always just one swing away': Mets' struggles with RISP lead to series loss

ANAHEIM -- What plagued the Mets’ offense Friday and Saturday did not go away Sunday. New York went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base in the rubber game against the Angels. That inability to capitalize proved significant, as the Mets dropped their first series in more than a month with a 3-2 loss at Angel Stadium.

“We were always just one swing away,” Brandon Nimmo said.

For the weekend, the Mets were 6-for-35 with men in scoring position, stranding 27. J.D. Martinez’s grand slam Saturday and a few key hits notwithstanding, the Mets have been lacking in clutch situations.

They had a chance to put those worries aside in the eighth -- down one with one out, men on first and third and Mark Vientos at the plate. On a 2-2 pitch, Angels reliever Mike Baumann induced an inning-ending double play which added to the Mets’ frustration.

“We created opportunities,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But we chased a little too much.”

The missed opportunities were there throughout. Francisco Lindor led off the game with a walk, registered his 23rd steal of the season and advanced 90 feet on an errant throw. Neither Martinez nor Pete Alonso were able to come through against Angels starter Griffin Canning. Martinez struck out looking and Alonso grounded out.

“You always want to put pressure on them right away,” Mendoza said. “But we had other opportunities throughout the game and we didn’t get the big hit.”

The same two came up in the fifth after Lindor drove in Jeff McNeil on an RBI single. With Lindor at second, both flied out to right field. The Mets’ shortstop nearly tied it himself when he pulled one down the right-field line in the seventh, but a crew chief review ruled it foul.

New York did cash in a gift from the Angels defense in the second. A would-be inning-ending grounder by Francisco Alvarez became an error, as first baseman Nolan Schanuel couldn’t handle the throw. McNeil followed with a walk and Harrison Bader singled to left. Alvarez had enough speed to score an unearned run.

Overall, the Mets couldn’t collectively figure out their approach at the plate, fanning 11 times against a succession of Angels pitchers: Canning, José Marte, Baumann, and Roansy Contreras.

“Canning did a good job of maneuvering through the lineup,” Nimmo said. “He got into some sticky situations and was able to get out of them. ... They made a lot of quality pitches that were on the edge of the zone. They seemed to enjoy these tight games and flourished in them.”

“This offense has been really good this year,” Nimmo continued. “I don’t think that’s going anywhere.”

Jose Quintana’s initial outing of August began to resemble the Jose Quintana of the season’s first two months. The Mets’ most consistent starter lately -- with a 2.05 ERA in July -- reverted back to the mechanical issues that affected him earlier when he posted a 5.29 ERA over his first 13 starts.

After three innings, Quintana had walked three, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch, allowed three hits and let three runs score while ballooning his pitch count up to 68.

“It was tough for me commanding the ball,” Quintana said. “Too many times behind in the count.”

He settled down from there -- initiating a double play in the fourth and retiring the Angels in order in the fifth -- to keep New York close.

“It was just one of those days that you have to compete no matter what,” Quintana said. “You need to fight. That’s what I had in mind. I wanted to go deeper in the game. But in order to do that I need to have shorter innings.”

“The walks and deep counts brought the pitch count up,” Mendoza said. “But he found a way to give us a chance on a day that was a struggle for him.”

Losing a series for the first time since June 30, against a team out of playoff contention, the Mets now face the most challenging -- or at least the most logistically difficult -- portion of their 10-day, four-city, three-time zone, zero-off-day adventure: a Monday afternoon make-up game in St. Louis before jettisoning to Colorado to begin a three-game series Tuesday.

“This is not ideal at all,” Nimmo said. “You just have to make the best of this.”

“That’s part of what we do,” Mendoza said. “That’s the schedule and we’ll be ready.”