There are inevitabilities in life. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. And the Mets are really bad in July.
The Mets fell to 4-12 in July with their 8-3 loss to the Dodgers in 12 innings yesterday afternoon at Citi Field. With the loss, the Mets fell under .500 for the first time this season (47-48). They have lost eight of nine, nine out of their last 10, and were swept for the second time in the last three series. Dating back to 2009, the Mets are 39-56 in July.
“Frustrating. Frustrating to lose. We have a lot of games left but frustration is the word,” Daniel Murphy said about the team’s mood.
The pitching staff, which had been a strength in the first three months, has collapsed. The Mets have allowed 92 runs this month and their 5.65 ERA ranks No. 29 in the majors.
“It’s about pitching,” manager Terry Collins said. “You’ve got to give your guys a shot to win baseball games. Our pitching has done that. That’s why we were [where] we were. Right now we’ve had some issues.”
A clearer picture will develop with a stretch of 14 games in 14 days starting with today’s series opener against the Nationals. The Mets trail Washington by 8 1/2 games in the division and are five games behind Wild Card co-leaders Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
“It’s very disappointing. We’re certainly not happy with the way things have gone in the last 10 days,” Collins said. “So we have to buckle down, get after it and get over it. We’ve got a tough three games coming up. We’ve got to pick ourselves up and get ready for them.”
Yesterday’s co-conspirators were an offense that could only produce three runs despite 16 hits, and reliever Ramon Ramirez (2-2), who surrendered five runs on five hits in the 12th inning. Josh Wall threw a scoreless 11th inning to earn his first major league win in his first major league appearance.
“We all know we’re in a bad stretch right now,” said Jon Niese, who pitched well in the series finale. Niese allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings.
“Jon Niese pitched a very good game for us,” Collins said. “Kept us in the game, gave us lots of opportunities to win the game.”
Follow Mets beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.
