Coming to bat with the bases loaded in the sixth inning on Tuesday, Wilson Ramos had a chance to erase a night’s worth of Mets frustrations. Moments earlier, Phillies starter Jake Arrieta had loaded the bases and limped off the mound. The tying runs were on base. All momentum belonged to the Mets. Had fans been in the stands, they would have been anxious.
Then Ramos beat the first pitch he saw into the ground. He was slow getting out of the batter’s box and sluggish up the line, giving the Phillies plenty of time to turn an inning-ending double play. Just like that, the Mets’ best chance to tie the game evaporated in a 4-1 loss to the Phillies, and the team was left questioning an uncertain future — both short- and long-term — at catcher.
Neither Arrieta nor Rick Porcello was particularly sharp in a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners, but Porcello fell victim to an Adam Haseley two-run single in the fourth inning and a Didi Gregorius two-run homer in the fifth to put the Mets in a 4-1 hole.
The Mets battled back in the sixth, however, loading the bases with one out as Arrieta suffered an apparent leg injury. Next up was Ramos, who beat reliever JoJo Romero’s first pitch into the ground for the 6-4-3 double play.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].