Mets Week in Review: Two Walk-Off Losses Define a Frustrating Week

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Mets Video

New York Mets Weekly Snapshot

Record Last Week: 3-3

Runs Scored Last Week: 23

Runs Surrendered Last Week: 21

Standings

5th in NL East (59-72)

16.5 GB of 1st Place, 12.0 GB of a Wild Card

Transactions

August 17: New York Mets designated 3B Gabriel Arias for assignment.
August 17: New York Mets selected the contract of 1B Christopher Morel from Triple-A Syracuse.
August 18: New York Mets activated RHP Austin Warren from the 15-day injured list.
August 18: New York Mets optioned RHP Chayce McDermott to Triple-A Syracuse.
August 18: New York Mets sent RHP Justin Hagenman on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie.
August 19: New York Mets placed DH Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list with left ankle bursitis.
August 19: New York Mets recalled RHP Chayce McDermott from Triple-A Syracuse.
August 19: New York Mets recalled 1B Eric Wagaman from Triple-A Syracuse.
August 19: New York Mets optioned RHP Jack Weisenburger to Triple-A Syracuse.
August 19: Chicago Cubs claimed 3B Gabriel Arias off waivers from the Mets.
August 20: New York Mets sent 1B Mark Vientos on a rehab assignment to Double-A Binghamton.
August 23: New York Mets transferred RHP Justin Hagenman's rehab assignment to Double-A Binghamton.

Scores

Game 126: NYM 2, SD 1

Game 127: SD 5, NYM 2

Game 128: NYM 4, SD 2

Game 129: CWS 6, NYM 4

Game 130: NYM 10, CWS 5

Game 131: CWS 2, NYM 1

Series Breakdown/Highlights

Padres Series: Coming off a sweep of the Nationals and a 4-2 week, the Mets stayed home to face a much tougher opponent in the Padres. New York continued its strong post-deadline play by taking two of three from San Diego.

The series opener was all about pitching and defense. Nolan McLean gave the Mets six innings of one-run baseball, but the biggest story was what happened behind him. Carson Benge threw out two runners at home plate in the first inning, becoming the first outfielder in Mets history to record two assists to the catcher in the same inning. A.J. Ewing later added another outfield assist at the plate. Bo Bichette gave New York the lead with an RBI single in the first before Luis Robert Jr. brought home another run with a sacrifice fly. Daniel Duarte handled the ninth, and the Mets escaped with a 2-1 victory.

Game two belonged to Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres star opened the game with a home run off Zac Thornton and added another blast in the fifth as San Diego built an early advantage. Tatis also robbed Francisco Lindor of what would have been a grand slam, making his stamp on both sides of the ball. Luis Torrens continued his hot stretch with a solo homer, and Luis Robert Jr. went deep in the eighth, but the Mets never fully recovered. Manny Machado added a ninth-inning homer before Mason Miller closed out a 5-2 Padres win.

The Mets responded in the rubber match behind another big moment from Benge. With two outs in the fourth inning, Benge launched a two-run homer off Michael King to give the Mets the lead. It was his 15th home run of the season, making him just the second Mets rookie with at least 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in a season, joining Darryl Strawberry. Robert Stock carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowed only one run over 4.1 innings. New York added two insurance runs in the eighth, while Nate Lavender earned his first MLB victory and Kodai Senga picked up his fourth save in the 4-2 win.

White Sox Series: Following Thursday's off day, the Mets traveled to Chicago for a three-game set against the AL Central-leading White Sox. It also marked Luis Robert Jr.'s first trip back to Chicago as a visitor after spending the first six seasons of his career with the White Sox.

Friday's opener looked like it was going to belong to the Mets. Marcus Semien opened the scoring with an RBI single, Brett Baty added a two-run double, and Bo Bichette homered as New York took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Sean Manaea had cruised through five scoreless innings, but the game entirely changed the third time through Chicago's lineup. Miguel Vargas, Randal Grichuk, and Colson Montgomery hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to tie the game at four. The score remained tied until the bottom of the ninth, when Jake Rogers hit a two-run walk-off homer against Jefry Yan to hand the Mets a crushing 6-4 loss.

The Mets responded Saturday with their biggest offensive performance of the week, and Luis Robert Jr. made his former team pay. Robert homered twice, including a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo homer in the seventh, finishing with three RBIs. Bo Bichette, Carson Benge, and Luis Torrens also went deep as the Mets tied their season high with five home runs. Benge finished 3-for-5, while Bichette, Semien, and Jared Young also recorded multiple hits. Christian Scott allowed four runs over 4.2 innings, but Austin Warren provided 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen as New York rolled to a 10-5 victory.

The finale turned into another painful walk-off defeat. Nolan McLean continued his impressive August with six strong innings, keeping Chicago off the scoreboard while working out of several jams. The game remained scoreless until Andrew Benintendi doubled home the first run in the bottom of the eighth. The Mets responded in the ninth when Jared Young delivered a game-tying RBI single, but New York left the bases loaded and failed to take the lead. In the bottom half, Tristan Peters drove a Kodai Senga pitch to the outfield, where it glanced off A.J. Ewing's glove and went over the wall for a walk-off home run. Chicago's 2-1 victory gave the White Sox the series and handed the Mets their second walk-off loss in three days.