Mets squander five-run lead in 9-6 loss to Astros

The Mets slowly watched their 6-1 lead evaporate on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, falling to the Houston Astros, 9-6, to snap their four-game winning streak.

Here are the takeaways…

-The Mets bullpen, shorthanded with Edwin Diaz suspended, was tasked with protecting a 6-4 lead over the final 3.2 innings of the game but unraveled in the eighth inning.

Jake Diekman walked the first two batters he faced and while he got the next two outs, Carlos Mendoza turned to Reed Garrett to finish the inning. But Garrett walked pinch-hitter Trey Cabbage to load the bases to bring up Jose Altuve. The right-hander threw a wild pitch to score a run to make it a 6-5 game before ultimately walking Altuve to bring up Alex Bregman with the go-ahead run on second.

Garrett worked Bregman into a 3-2 count and appeared to strike him out on a cutter down and in, but the Houston third baseman was able to get a piece of it for a foul tip to keep the at-bat alive. That proved costly as Bregman lined a single into right field on the next pitch to give the Astros a 7-6 lead, coming all the way back from down 6-1 in the third inning.

Things did not fare better in the ninth when Danny Young allowed a two-out, two-RBI double to Mauricio Dubòn, which extended Houston’s lead to 9-6 to allow for an easy ninth for closer Josh Hader.

–Tylor Megill had an up-and-down start on Saturday, allowing four earned runs on five hits over 5.1 innings pitched.

The right-hander put the Mets in an early 1-0 hole after allowing an opposite-field home run to Houston center fielder Jake Meyers in the second inning. But Megill got some wiggle room after the Mets took a 5-1 lead in the bottom half and extended it to 6-1 in the third before he ran into trouble again in the fourth.

With two on and one out, Jeremy Peña ripped a two-RBI double into left field to narrow the Astros’ deficit to 6-3. Jon Singleton proceeded to drive in Peña in the next at-bat to make it 6-4 before Megill retired Dubòn and Cèsar Salazar to end the inning.

Megill was tested again in the fifth with two on and one out but escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts of Yainer Diaz and Meyers. He returned to start the sixth and got the first out before allowing a walk to end his day.

–Jose Iglesias – the Mets’ backup infielder and part-time Latin pop star whose song has become an anthem for the team – had himself an impressive day at the plate, garnering three hits and knocking in the Mets’ first run of the game in unique fashion.

After Altuve botched a tailor-made double play (which was ruled a hit) to set up runners on the corners and nobody out, Iglesias came up and hit a dribbler toward first base in front of home plate. Astros pitcher Framber Valdez made the curious decision to make a play at the plate by trying to flip the ball with his glove, instead, he flung it over the catcher’s head and allowed the run to score easily.

-Iglesias’ RBI single was just the first strike for the Mets as they capitalized on Houston’s defensive miscues with a five-run second inning. Harrison Bader put the Mets ahead on the very next pitch with a single to right field and two batters later Brandon Nimmo blooped a double just out of the reach of a diving Yordan Alvarez to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Pete Alonso drove in two more with a single to center field to put the Mets up 5-1.

–Mark Vientos continued swinging his hot bat with a solo home run in the third inning to extend the Mets’ lead to 6-1. It marked his fourth home run in his last five games. In his last 30 games, Vientos has nine home runs, 19 RBI and is slashing .292/.350/.585.

-On a more positive note for the Mets’ bullpen, Ty Adcock threw 1.2 scoreless innings in his debut with the team, allowing just one hit.

MVP of the Game: Jake Meyers

The Astros center fielder was a thorn in the Mets’ side all game. He finished 3-for-4 with a walk, home run and scored three runs, including the game-tying run in the eighth inning on Garrett’s wild pitch.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets wrap up their three-game series vs. the Astros at Citi Field on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET.

Luis Severino (5-2, 3.29 ERA) toes the rubber for the Mets while the Astros have yet to name a starter for the finale.