Mets manager Buck Showalter was heavily criticized after the Mets blew a three-run lead against the Phillies thanks in part to bullpen mismanagement.
The Mets suffered their sixth loss in eight games on Sunday in a completely winnable series finale with the Phillies. And the buck has to stop at Buck Showalter on that one.
In a display of what Marc Carig of The Athletic correctly labeled "malpractice," Showalter failed to use his best arm, David Robertson, when the moment called for it. As a result, the Phillies flipped a three-run deficit in the eighth inning and won 7-6.
"The Mets 42nd loss of the year is their most horrific," Mets announcer Gary Cohen said fittingly.
"As the Mets bullpen melts down, aided by a key error, and gives up four runs on one hit in the eight, Buck Showalter tried to stay away from his best relievers and the Mets paid the price."
The meltdown heightened calls for Showalter to be fired, and its hard to blame the fans who are thinking that way. New York is 35-42 and sitting fourth in the NL East despite the biggest payroll in baseball.
Buck Showalter takes flack for Mets bullpen meltdown
New York had a 6-3 lead going into the eighth inning thanks to Pete Alonso's seventh-inning home run.
Showalter sent out Josh Walker as the set up man and things went sideways in a hurry. Walker faied to put down any of the three batters he faced, loading the bases for Jeff Brigham to take over. He promptly allowed one run, with Brett Baty's throwing error keeping the bases loaded. Brigham then walked in a run to pull the Phillies within one.
Brigham's night didn't get any better. He hit the next two batters to score the tying and lead runs while Mets fans pulled out their hair wondering where on earth Robertson or similarly reliable relievers like Adam Ottavino or Brooks Raley might be.
It turns out Ottavino and Raley were unavailable, but Showalter simply decided to sit on Robertson as the lead evaporated. The manager told reporters after the game that he wanted to save Roberston for the ninth inning.
Of course, that was silly. The Mets didn't get the chance to use Robertson because they coughed up their lead before the manager even got Robertson warming up.
"What else can you do?" Showalter said, per Tim Healey of Newsday, while indicating he wouldn't have done anything differently in the eighth, as though his closer couldn't have possibly helped.
How encouraging is that Mets fans?
