Mets take positives from winning trip, but error-filled finale leaves bad taste

PHOENIX -- A 5-4 road trip simply wasn’t good enough for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.

Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks in Arizona capped a nine-game road trip that included a snow-out in Colorado, 100+ degree heat in the desert and a record above .500 with series wins in Anaheim and Denver.

Nine games and 10 days later, the Mets are finally heading home, kicking off a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the Tigers. That 5-4 mark, though, left much to be desired in the eyes of Mendoza, especially considering Sunday marked the Mets’ second consecutive defeat.

“We're better than that, especially the past couple of days,” he said. “We needed to be better.”

The Mets struggled for much of the day on Sunday and didn’t notch their first hit until there was one out in the top of the sixth. Catcher Luis Torrens got New York on the board with a standup double to pull to within one run, but the D-backs used a three-run outburst in the bottom half of the inning to essentially put the game out of reach.

Huascar Brazobán, Tobias Myers and David Peterson allowed five runs in the game’s first six innings, but only two were earned. All three runs that the Diamondbacks plated against Peterson in the sixth were unearned following a throwing error by third baseman Andy Ibáñez earlier in the inning.

“I stood a little bit wide and it got away from me,” Ibáñez said through interpreter Alan Suriel. “It's one of those things where you don't want it to happen, but it's baseball.”

The Mets finished with three errors in the game, and Ibañez was responsible for two of them.

Mendoza was a little more blunt with his assessment.

“Those are routine plays at this level,” he said. “I expect those plays to be made, as simple as that.”

Peterson allowed four hits while striking out three in five innings of relief, and he kept the Mets in the game throughout the middle innings. The offense struggled to break through against D-backs starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who pitched into the ninth inning for the first time in his career.

The 33-year-old southpaw came two outs shy of his first career complete game, and stymied designated hitter Juan Soto and the Mets all day.

Soto finished 0-for-3 with one walk, and has just four hits in 33 at-bats this month.

“I’ve just been missing a lot of balls,” Soto said. “I've been working with the hitting coaches, swinging the bat, doing my routines and working on mechanics.

“Now you're at the point where you just gotta stop missing it.”

Fortunately for Soto and the Mets, his offensive prowess has been far more potent at Citi Field this season. He’s hitting .341 with two home runs and six RBIs at home, as opposed to a .200 batting average on the road.

New York’s offense posted just five runs in three games against the Diamondbacks, but its pitching was far more reliable during the nine-game trip. Peterson has been especially solid and has a 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and nine strikeouts over his last two outings, both out of the bullpen.

“The pitching, they continue to give us chances,” Mendoza said. “They're keeping us in games, the starters and the relievers, but offensively we have to be better.”

Peterson said the pitching staff believes it’s not a matter of if – but when – New York’s bats come alive.

Following a moderately successful trip across the western United States, that offensive boost could be right around the corner.

“I'm confident in every single guy on this team, and so when you have that confidence and you believe in the guy next to you, believe he's going to go out there and do your job, it helps you go out there and do your job,” Peterson said. “We’re just continuing to focus on working hard and picking each other up, and being there for each other.”

New York has an off-day Monday before hosting the Tigers at 7:10 ET on Tuesday.