NEW YORK -- Imagine if Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. didn’t start Tuesday night at Citi Field. The Mets would have had a chance to win the game. But Tatis proved to be the difference -- offensively and defensively -- as New York lost to San Diego, 5-2.
It was 7:10 p.m. ET. Mets left-hander Zac Thornton threw the first pitch of the game and Tatis took him to school by hitting a monster home run over the left-field wall.
“I tried to get ahead like with any other batter,” Thornton said.
In the bottom of the second, the Mets had a chance to take the lead against Padres left-hander Robbie Ray, but Tatis had other ideas. With the bases loaded and two outs, Francisco Lindor hit a 1-0 pitch to deep right field. The ball had a chance to go over the wall for a grand slam, but Tatis leaped and caught it, preventing New York from taking the lead.
“It was a good catch,” Lindor said.
“It was impressive and annoying,” interim manager Andy Green said about Tatis’ performance. “The guy is really good. He put two good swings early in the game. There are probably enough superlatives already you’ve thrown at the robbed home run. It was impressive.”
Thornton would go on to pitch five innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven batters.
“Thornton looked gritty today, but I’m encouraged by one thing in particular: It was the first time the curveball was featured somewhat prominently in the big leagues,” Green said. “I’ve seen it enough in the Minor Leagues and really liked the pitch for a depth offering. The curveball has more of a south option. He got some swings on top of that. The curveball being part of his arsenal really opens things up.”
On offense, the Mets went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Both of their runs came on solo homers by Luis Torrens and Luis Robert Jr. in the fifth and eighth, respectively. A player who is not producing for New York is rookie outfielder A.J. Ewing, who went hitless in three at-bats and is now 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts five games into New York's six-game homestand.
In the eighth, with two outs and runners on first and second, Ewing had a chance to drive in at least one run against left-hander Adrian Morejon. Ewing worked the count full, but struck out to end the threat.
“The best version of [Ewing], he has tremendous plate discipline. That’s what everybody highlighted when he arrived in the big leagues. It’s what served him so well in the Minor Leagues,” Green said. “…[Recently], he hit some balls hard, but he feels like he needs to make something happen, so he ends up out of the strike zone more than he normally is.
“It’s kind of classic in baseball. Everybody goes through [slumps]. It’s his first time going through it at the Major League level. I’m confident he will come out of the other side of it. He worked really hard to create that 3-2 count in that last at-bat. He is going to want that last pitch back. Part of this game is the ability to control the heartbeat in big situations. He has that ability, and he is learning to do it consistently.”