As we entered the 2020 baseball season the Mets beat the Braves in their home opener but have not won a game at CitiField since that day dropping their 5th straight home game last night as the Marlins beat them 4-3 in a game that illustrated their 2 biggest issues this year; lack of clutch hitting and their hurlers walking too many hitters.
When the Mets dropped 3 of 4 last weekend in Atlanta, their walks killed them as a majority of those base runners scored runs and that certainly happened to Michael Wacha last night as both batters he issued a free pass to scored in that 4 run second inning that gave the Marlins all the runs thety needed to win the contest.
From an offensive standpoint as the Mets were trying to erase than 4 run deficit they plated 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning but once again with the bases loaded failed to deliver a key hit or even a well placed out that would have knotted the score as Dominic Smith, who had homered earlier in the game, popped out meekly and Wilson Ramos grounded out to pretty much seal the loss.
These 2 factors-clutch hitting and hurlers passing out too many free passes must improve or this Met malaise will continue to fester especially at home. And as the Marlins continue to win they will gain more confidence that in a shortened season they will make the best of their situation in this truncated season.
For the Mets focus at the plate as their players step in the batters box in run scoring situations and their pitchers controlling the strike zone with sharp command will not be easy fixes. But fixing this combination of issues will be imperative if this team has any plans to join the playoff party by season’s end.
Please listen to Mets zoom post game audio below