CHICAGO — One night after hitting a go-ahead home run to complete a heroic comeback, Francisco Alvarez hit another. But there was no coming back from this one.
The unraveling started long before Alvarez took left-hander Matthew Boyd deep in the fifth inning. Jonah Tong was lit up in the third inning, surrendering four runs to get the hook before even getting an out. Eventually, the Mets lost 10-3 on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, but not before using the two pitchers who were tentatively scheduled to pitch Saturday, and yet again, committing sloppy, fundamental errors.
Luckily, the Cincinnati Reds lost in extra innings to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second night in a row, helping the Mets stay in the Wild Card standings. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks are making a push. The Reds and Diamondbacks each own tiebreakers over the Mets.
The bullpen had to cover 21 outs, only 24 hours after having to get 23 in relief of David Peterson. The Mets called on right-hander Clay Holmes and left-hander Sean Manaea, two starters who have been making tandem starts as of late. They availed themselves, informing management the night prior.
“They volunteered yesterday, [saying], ‘Hey, if you guys need us,’ so we appreciate that,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “It says a lot about them, and here we were today, needing them.”
Having both pitched last Sunday before departing for Chicago, Holmes and Manaea would have thrown bullpen sessions Wednesday afternoon anyway. The Mets’ weekend pitching plans are still up in the air, but were not affected by their appearances. Using them showed urgency on the part of the Mets (81-77), but it also showed how dire the pitching situation is at the wrong time of year.
“We’ll piece it together,” Mendoza said. “We’ll continue to find ways to get 27 outs.”
It’s not easy to find 27 outs when your starting pitcher is a 22-year-old rookie learning on the job.
In just his fifth big league start, Tong received help from the defense in the first inning to keep the game scoreless, with center fielder Tyrone Taylor nailing the runner at home for the second out. It was a strong throw by Taylor, who was activated off the injured list Wednesday afternoon, and a great tag by Alvarez at the plate. Initially, Michael Busch was ruled safe, coming home on a single up the center by Moises Ballesteros, but the Mets challenged the call and it was overturned after a review.
Tong retired the side in order in the second, and for a moment, things seemed to be going well for the Mets.
That didn’t last long.
The Cubs (89-69) loaded the bases on the right-handed Tong, and Ian Happ scored two with a double to right. There were two balls down the left side Mark Vientos failed to get to. Before long, it was 4-0 and left-hander Richard Lovelady came in to relieve the Tong (2-3), who gave up a career-high seven hits and five earned runs in only two innings.
“I just didn’t get the job done,” Tong said. “Tough first, but a huge play by Tyrone. I thought I figured it out in the second, but they got to me.”
With a 7.71 ERA, Tong seems to have given the Mets all he’s capable of for now. While the future is bright, the present is as much of a question for him as it is for the Mets. He’s given up five runs in two of his five starts, and has been unable to elevate his fastball at times. Without his best pitch, he should be going to the breaking ball, but Tong has been slow to adjust.
It’s understandable given that he’s still developing. Tong hasn’t always needed to use his breaking pitches since minor league hitters often couldn’t touch his fastball. This isn’t the time of year for a team to be taking a chance on a developing prospect, but they also don’t have any alternatives.
“When you’ve got some of these guys going through it at the big-league level, and especially where we’re at [in the standings], you run that through that risk,” Mendoza said. “It’s hard to put it on them or blame them. This is where we are now.”
Rookies will pitch the next two days, with right-hander Nolan McLean closing out the series Thursday night at Wrigley Field, and right-hander Brandon Sproat opening the final series of the regular season Friday night in Miami.
The Mets came completely unglued after Alvarez cut the lead to 6-2. Vientos made an error on a routine ground-ball, and a wild pitch led to a debacle at the plate with Alvarez flipping a ball past Holmes. Two more runs scored.
“It’s not for lack of effort,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said of the errors that have plagued the Mets since last week.
However, the manager sees the issue differently.
“This is the big leagues and they’re routine plays,” Mendoza said. “We expect those to be made and they know that.”
By the time Juan Soto hit his 43rd home run of the season in the top of the eighth, the game was well out of hand.
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