Brandon Sproat dazzled in his second Major League start, but the Mets’ bullpen faltered late, yet again in a 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday at Citi Field, extending New York’s losing streak to eight games.
Sproat fired six scoreless innings on just 70 pitches, striking out three without a walk and keeping Texas off balance with a mix of two-seamers, sweepers, and changeups. The rookie left with a 1-0 lead after Francisco Lindor’s heads-up baserunning manufactured a run in the fifth.
Juan Soto crushed an upper-deck home run in the seventh to make it 2-0, becoming the first Met to post a 40-homer, 30-steal season while also reaching 100 walks.
The advantage unraveled in the final innings. A catcher’s interference call in the eighth opened the door for Texas, and after a double and a sacrifice fly cut the lead in half, Edwin Díaz entered and allowed the tying run on a double to the right-field corner. In the ninth, a hard grounder off Lindor’s glove, a sacrifice bunt, and Wyatt Langford’s two-out single to right-center gave the Rangers their first lead.
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The Mets will try to avoid a sweep and a ninth straight loss on Sunday at 1:40 p.m. with rookie right-hander Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.42 ERA) against Texas lefty Jacob Latz (2-0, 2.91 ERA).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].