After the Mets managed just five hits in a 9-0 loss to the last-place Diamondbacks on Thursday to suffer a three-game sweep at Citi Field, Collins ripped his team, its passion and its effort in a monologue that lasted almost four minutes.
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The Diamondbacks were a band on the run with 13 stolen bases in the series – one shy of Baltimore’s season total.
“We’ve been on defense when other teams do it”. The 24-year-old is racking up some big strikeout numbers with 30 k’s in 16 2/3 innings over those three starts, but also surrendered four home runs. Zack Godley and Dominic Leone finished the five-hitter. The names on their back and on the front of their uniform say they’re a major league baseball player.
Arizona set a franchise record for steals in a series, topping its 10 in a four-game set against Miami in 2009.
“Maybe not the smartest decision sliding headfirst”, Shipley said.
Runners have swiped 36 bases in 40 tries against Syndergaard this year and are 51 for 56 against him in his career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “I’m really mechanical out there”, Syndergaard said.
Ray threw seven shutout innings Wednesday night, when he was in line for the win until closer Jake Barrett gave up a two-run pinch-homer to Kelly Johnson. Owings had his second straight three-hit game, finishing with a single, double and triple.
The Mets managed just five hits and did not put their first runner in scoring position until the fifth inning in a 3-0 game, but they wasted their chance to get back in the game.
“That’s what a Rule 5 guy has to do”, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. “The weather, the humidity helps the guys’ balls move”.
“When you have a group that pushes back and goes in different directions, that when things go downhill but we don’t have that group”. “But we’re playing hard”.
For about 15 minutes the Mets gathered in their clubhouse and depending on who you talked to, several – or, uh, all 25 – players spoke up in addition to Collins, telling their teammates that there’s nothing they can do about how things have gone lately and that there are still 48 games left in the season to right the ship. They have the lowest batting average in the major leagues and were shut out for the ninth time. Five players had a hit apiece for the Mets, who were limited to 17 hits and five runs in the sweep.Right-hander Noah Syndergaard (9-7) took the loss after allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six over five innings.
Manager Terry Collins held a team meeting after the game.
“Kind of allowed us to click the refresh button”, Syndergaard said.
Mets: RHP Bartolo Colon (10-6, 3.46) has never beaten the Diamondbacks, the only major league club he hasn’t defeated. The Diamondbacks (46-66) long ago stepped out of the playoff race, but manager Chip Hale is hopeful his team can play spoiler this week during a six-game road trip to NY and Boston, where Arizona begins a three-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday night.
This story has been corrected to show that Arizona has nine steals in the first two games of the series.
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Diamondbacks: Dr. Don Sheridan, the Diamondbacks orthopedic hand specialist, was to operate Thursday to stabilize a tendon in the left wrist of OF David Peralta, who crashed into the outfield wall in Arizona on August 5. OF Yoenis Cespedes (quad) will “hopefully” be ready to come off the DL as soon as he’s eligible, Alderson said. LHP Andrew Chafin (shoulder tendinitis) pitched a hitless inning for Class A Visalia on Wednesday night and could return to the Diamondbacks for Monday’s homestand opener against the Mets. OF Yasmany Tomas (neck) missed the entire series. He has not won in his last six starts.
