Rick Porcello turned in a Mets debut that reminded fans of what they used to do on Sunday nights, before baseball returned. The right-hander’s ugly outing, combined with the lineup’s sluggish performance, was enough for the cardboard cutouts to scamper for the exits.
Porcello faced 15 batters over two-plus innings and gave up seven runs — six earned — on seven hits with three walks. The strikeout he served to leadoff hitter Ronald Acuna Jr. in the first inning was the only merit Porcello earned with his new fanbase on Sunday night, as the Mets fell to the Braves, 14-1.
To add insult to injury, the Mets had to hop on a bus to Boston following the three hour and 20-minute blowout.
“I was excited,” Procello said of his debut. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid which again, makes it very disappointing. Obviously I don’t feel good about what I did today. It was a terrible performance. Two innings and seven runs does not do anything for our team or for anybody.”
Porcello’s 56-pitch start, and Corey Oswalt’s inability to limit the damage over four innings and five earned runs, underscored just how fragile the Mets rotation is at the beginning of this 60-game season. Oswalt was optioned to the team’s alternate site in Brooklyn following the loss. In any case, if the Mets had anticipated Oswalt would be their spot starter against the Red Sox, that hope died the minute he entered Sunday’s game.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].