The New York Mets received a reminder Saturday night of just how challenging it is to rebuild a bullpen during a playoff race.
The Mets on Sunday afternoon will look to bounce back from a disappointing defeat when they meet the Los Angeles Angels in the rubber game of a three-game interleague series in Anaheim, Calif.
Left-hander Jose Quintana (6-6, 3.89 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Angels right-hander Griffin Canning (3-10, 5.25).
Zach Neto hit what turned out to be a game-winning, three-run homer in the seventh inning Saturday night for the Angels, who squandered an early two-run lead before earning a 5-4 victory.
J.D. Martinez’s grand slam in the top of the seventh had put the Mets ahead 4-2 and in position to record a comeback win.
Huascar Brazoban, making his second appearance for New York since being acquired from the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the inning before giving up a single to Michael Stefanic and walking Nolan Schanuel.
Neto then won an eight-pitch battle by homering over the left-field wall.
Despite the role he played in a costly loss — the Mets fell out of a virtual tie for the third and final National League wild-card spot with the San Diego Padres, who beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 — Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Brazoban will continue to get a late-inning audition in New York.
The Mets’ bullpen has just one pitcher (Adam Ottavino) who has been on the active roster all season.
“He’s gotten big outs before, and he’s got a big arm,” Mendoza said of Brazoban. “We brought him in here to be in those situations.”
The Angels unveiled perhaps the biggest arm of all to preserve the win. Hard-throwing rookie Ben Joyce entered with two outs in the eighth and retired Tyrone Taylor on a grounder with pinch-runner Jose Iglesias, the potential tying run, on third base.
Joyce then locked down his first career save with a perfect ninth inning capped by a strikeout of Martinez on a fastball clocked at 104.7 mph, which according to ESPN was the fastest strikeout pitch since 2008 — the start of the pitch-tracking era.
Joyce’s impressive save ended an evening filled with potential glimpses at a better future for the Angels, who are on pace for a ninth straight losing season. Los Angeles’ top three batters Saturday — Schanuel, Neto and Logan O’Hoppe — are all 24 or younger. The trio went 3-for-10 with three runs and four RBIs, all by Neto.
“These are the guys that are going to be mainstays in our drive forward,” Angels manager Ron Washington said.
Quintana earned the win last Monday when he allowed one run over six innings as the Mets beat the Minnesota Twins 15-2. He is 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA in five career starts against the Angels, for whom Quintana pitched in 2021.
Canning didn’t factor into the decision Tuesday after giving up six runs in six innings in the Angels’ 10-7 win over the Colorado Rockies. He made his lone start against the Mets last Aug. 27, when he allowed one run over seven innings as Los Angeles fell 3-2. The loss was credited to the bullpen.
–Field Level Media
