The New York Mets couldn’t close it out tonight, falling 3-1 to the Houston Astros in a tough battle that saw Hunter Brown absolutely deal on the mound and Christian Scott get let down by a usually steady Nate Lavender in the sixth inning. Technical difficulties even messed with the broadcasts thanks to a power outage, so nobody, not even the folks watching at home, saw the first four outs of this game. You gotta be kidding me.
Brown Dominates Early, Mets Offense Stalls
Both teams went quietly in the first two innings, with Mets pitcher Christian Scott getting three easy ground ball outs in the top of the second. Francisco Lindor even made a sweet play to his right on one of them. But while Scott was efficient, he wasn’t racking up the K’s, with zero strikeouts through four frames. Hunter Brown for the Astros? He was a different story, absolutely dealing and sitting down six Mets hitters in just the first three innings. Talk about a tough matchup!
The Mets finally scratched across a run against Brown in the bottom of the fourth. Lindor led off with a single, then after a Bo Bichette fly out, Carson Benge absolutely mashed one off the center field wall for a double. Lindor scored on an aggressive send by Tim Leiper, thanks to a relay throw that was so off-line it was almost comical. That put the Mets up 1-0, but Brown managed to avoid any further damage in the inning. He wriggled out of another jam in the fifth too, after Marcus Semien singled and Luis Torrens advanced him to third. Another chance for the Astros to mess up a Met on the base paths, and Daulton Varsho’s throw from center was “comically inaccurate” yet again. But Brown made it all irrelevant, getting A.J. Ewing , who is still seriously struggling at the plate, going a whole month without an RBI , to ground into a double play.
The Sixth Inning Meltdown That Changed Everything
The sixth inning was the turning point, a real gut punch. Scott, who had been cruising along, struck out Jeremy Peña to start the frame. You’re thinking, “Alright, here we go!” Then he issued three straight walks, including a grueling nine-pitch walk to Jose Altuve. That was it for Scott, just shy of 100 pitches. Manager Andy Green called on Nate Lavender, who had been absolutely lights-out since getting called up, to get out of a bases-loaded mess.
But tonight, Lavender cracked. Daulton Varsho muscled a low pitch into right field for a single, and just like that, the Astros had a 2-1 lead. Yanier Diaz followed with another single, hitting it off the end of his bat, bringing home the third run of the inning. All three runs were charged to Scott, but man, it ended Lavender’s spotless record with inherited runners. Just brutal. At least Jonathan Pintaro came in and pitched a scoreless seventh, thanks to an amazing stab by Bo Bichette on an Isaac Paredes hot shot to third, turning it into an inning-ending double play.
This loss stings, especially after having a lead and watching the bullpen falter. The Mets will need to find a way to get those bats going consistently and make sure those late-inning jams don’t turn into full-blown meltdowns if they want to get back on track.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Amazin’ Avenue.
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