Mets’ bats go quiet again in frustrating loss to Guardians

The buzzing Citi Field crowd — which included a Darryl Strawberry who was parked behind home plate — arrived hoping to witness history.

By the end, they would have settled for a pulse from the Mets’ offense.

In four plate appearances, Pete Alonso could not find the stroke to match Strawberry at 252 home runs as a Met. And these days, when Alonso is not powering the attack, too often the attack is lacking power.

The Mets did not record a run after the second inning and did not record a hit after the fourth in what became a 3-2 loss to the Guardians in front of 39,895 in Queens on Tuesday.

The Mets (63-51) dropped another series before Wednesday’s matinee arrives and have lost seven of their past eight. Alonso — who went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly — will have another chance at history tomorrow.

For the 2025, second-half Mets, these are the games they are supposed to win.

They received competence, if not length, from their starting pitcher (Clay Holmes). Their super bullpen allowed little (just a cheap run scored off Tyler Rogers). They held Cleveland to six hits and three runs.

But an expensive and potent offense, which finished with just four hits and went silent after the second inning, is not matching the blueprint ideal.

Even their runs came from with a dose of frustration.

They scored once in the first inning, when Francisco Lindor walked, took second on a balk and third on a wild pitch before Alonso’s sacrifice fly scored one.

But with Juan Soto on second base, a suddenly frigid Brandon Nimmo struck out on a night the Mets went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

They scored again in the second, when Tyrone Taylor came through with a single that knocked in Mark Vientos. But the Mets then loaded the bases with one out for Lindor, who smoked a ground ball up the middle that went for a double play.

And that would conclude the Mets’ offensive performance.

The winning run might as well have been scored accidentally.

Rogers — who specializes in weak contact — got into trouble because that weak contact found holes.

With two outs in the seventh, C.J. Kayfus hit a chopper through the left side for a single. Brayan Rocchio followed by sticking out his bat and lofting an opposite-field single to left.

With two on, Steven Kwan hit a bleeder up the middle that bounced three times before splitting Lindor and Jeff McNeil for the go-ahead run. 

Holmes was dominant, then dented, then done.

For three innings, he was perfect, breezing through the Cleveland lineup without allowing a base runner. That streak ended in a three-hit, one-walk, fourth inning. After a scoreless fifth, he was gone after just 75 pitches so Gregory Soto could face the top of the Guardians’ lineup.

Holmes allowed those two runs in five innings, generally effective, but yet again unable to go deep. No Mets starting pitcher other than David Peterson has lasted six full innings since Holmes on June 7 — nearly two full months ago.