Justin Verlander booed his forgotten home debut as Mets concerns grow

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New York – Justin Verlanderin his Citi Field debut as a Met, was supposed to change his new team’s luck.

The three-time Cy Young winner was supposed to set the tone for the club’s six-game home with something akin to a good start. He was supposed to be the shining light in an otherwise dull collection of games that offered little hope and excitement.

Particularly with a starting rotation that has struggled to find its footing, Verlander’s outing to open up a series is a measuring stick against MLB-better rays Tuesday was important. No one understands – and accepts – this pressure more than Verlander.

“I was hoping today I would be motivated, go out and make a great start against a good team and help us win,” Verlander said later. “I consider myself at a high level. I expect to play well. I expect to pick up the rotation when they need it. I’m very proud of that. Lately I’ve been working towards it.”

As Verlander warmed up to his usual anthem, Eminem’s “Til the Crash”, the stadium was more than half full and there was a noise in the air that hasn’t accompanied this squad in quite some time. This uproar, no matter how small, lasted all rounds plus two before it collapsed.

The 40-year-old escaped traffic in the first two frames and appeared about to do it again in frame three. Then he hung a curveball to Isaac Paredeswho smashed it—coincidentally on top of a “Justworks” ad in left field—for a three-run home run.

“I didn’t make good enough pitches,” said Verlander, adding that there was something off about his mechanics. “I need to be better.”

These days, three runs are usually enough to put in a file metsAn unexpected crime in an irreversible pit. They entered Tuesday having five games and 52 innings and no home runs. Really, Verlander might have come close to being unrepeatable in his home debut. New York Struggling chance to win the match. But the bleeding did not stop there.

Verlander allowed another run in the fourth inning, this time on a A.J Harold Ramirez one RBI. Then came the dagger, and that’s what hurt him the most: In the fifth, with his velocity slightly down, the veteran coughed up his second home run of the night to Paredes, a two-run shot from the left-field offense that put the Amazons into a six-run crater. Once he induced two ground balls to end that unfortunate fifth inning, Verlander got his first real treat in New York.

Rays quarterback Isaac Paredes hits the second touchdown of the game to Justin Verlander

The crowd of 28,296 booed the Mets as they walked off the field. This was not a low grumble either. These were the ringing sounds of a frustrated fan base that promised more than a fourth-place, 20-23 start to the season. Boasting the largest payroll the sport has ever seen, the Mets are heading towards chaos beyond sight.

And apparently, no one, not even a future Hall of Famer and American League Cy Young winner like Verlander, can escape whatever curse befalls the club at the moment. The bright New York offseason signing was charged with six earned runs on eight hits across five innings and 96 pitches by the time his outing ended.

“I understand the fans are frustrated. We are frustrated too,” Verlander said. “Everyone is disappointed. We expect us to be better. I expect us to be better. I think this whole organization expects us to be better.”

Verlander, who signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the Mets in the offseason last season to lead the rotation alongside partner and former. Detroit Tigers colleague Max ScherzerHe was upfront about his expectations for the team. His words, however bitter and harsh they may seem, were indicative of a legitimate leader in a club that needed them.

“If I’m being honest, I think we’ll come out of a shoot a little better than this,” Verlander said. “But at the same time, baseball is a long season. I don’t want to give out all the clichés here, but in the last few years, I’ve seen a lot of teams struggle to get out of the game.” Gates, find them, click and search through to participate in the World Championships.You can take a look at Citizens. you look at Veles last year. There are teams that just click at the right time, find their mojo, and go from there.

“I think we’re past the point of waiting for that to happen. I think we need to make it happen. We’ve got the guys here to do it. I look around this locker room and I know everyone’s working their tails off. Nobody’s complacent. Everyone’s doing their best.” He can. I hope he clicks.”

The Mets are 7-9 at home this year. Fans expecting to come to the stadium for a carbon copy of last year’s results — their 54 home wins in 2022 was the highest total at Citi Field in franchise history — can quell that wishful thinking. Likewise, this current product seems incapable of achieving 80 victories, let alone last year’s 101.

New York managed to end a five-game homeless streak on Tuesday, as a rookie Brett Patti Belts hit a solo shot to center field in the fifth inning, followed by a blast Alonso House And Eduardo Escobar. But the last rally failed. As Verlander noted, “When we pitch, we don’t hit. When we pitch, we don’t pitch.”

Breaking down the Mets’ struggles with Anthony DiComo

The Mets can’t seem to find consistency, and in a tough division the NL East is headed Brave And the Phillies are still the current league champions, the rough spots are even more difficult to come back from.

“It’s disgusting,” he said. Brandon Nemo From the Mets, who have lost 10 of their past 12 games to the Rays, including a five-game winning streak. “The only way I know to get out of it is for everyone to keep trying to work as best they can. Work on your weaknesses. Don’t lose out on your strengths. Figure out how you can be productive for the team and ultimately click together.”

The Mets flopped during what should have been an easy schedule period. In 13 consecutive games against teams with a record under . 500, including basement outfits like tigersAnd redsAnd CitizensAnd Rocky, the Mets went 4-9. Those two weeks were supposed to be when the Mets fattened their record before hosting Tampa Bay and Philly this month. However, because of the funk this club has, it doesn’t matter much whether there’s an easy challenger or a playoff contender in the visiting dugout. Another mediocre outing on the mound ultimately resulted in an 8-5 loss on Tuesday.

New York junior pitchers have thrown 207.2 innings this year, the fourth-fewest innings pitched in the major leagues. This group yielded the fifth highest number of walks (39) and produced the second highest number of walks (103). With just over a quarter of the season behind them, the Mets starters are 14-18 with a 5.46 ERA. Verlander and Scherzer have combined for only nine starts so far, but their 4.83 ERA is slightly better.

“People come here and want to see the Mets win and get frustrated like we do and care like we do,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

Almost everything about the Mets seems broken right now, even the giant jumbotron. In the top of the sixth inning, a huge Rays logo covered the entire screen as a Mets reliever Dominic Leon Try to jump. Screen glitch caused play to stop. The already angry crowd booed the jumbotron as well. Moments later, Rice center fielder Jose Seri homered.

It was just that kind of night – it was that kind of season – in Flushing.

Disha Thosar He is the MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three and a half seasons as a good correspondent for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Disha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Never miss a Rafael Nadal match, no matter what country or time zone he’s playing in. Follow her on Twitter at @tweet.

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