The Mets got on the board first, but Hunter Brown took over from there and the Astros walked away with a 3-1 win, handing Christian Scott the loss after a sixth inning that slipped away from both him and Nate Lavender.
New York’s offense finally cracked Brown in the fourth. Francisco Lindor started the rally with a single, Bo Bichette lifted a fly out, and then Carson Benge ripped a double off the center-field wall.
Lindor came all the way around on Tim Leiper’s aggressive send, and the throw in from the outfield missed the mark badly enough that the run was never in doubt. That gave the Mets a 1-0 lead, but it would not last.
Scott was sharp through the early innings even without missing bats. He got three ground-ball outs in the second, including one handled cleanly by Francisco Lindor to his right, and Brown was the one piling up strikeouts, fanning six Mets over the first three frames. Scott still had no strikeouts through four, though he kept the Astros quiet until the middle innings.
The Mets had another opening in the fifth when Marcus Semien led off with a single and Luis Torrens moved him to third with one out. Once again, the Astros had a shot to make a play on the bases, but the throw from Daulton Varsho in center was way off target.
Brown then escaped by getting A.J. Ewing to roll into a double play, extending Ewing’s month without an RBI.
Everything changed in the sixth. Scott struck out Jeremy Peña to begin the inning, then walked the next three hitters, with the final free pass going to Jose Altuve on nine pitches.
That sent Scott to the dugout just shy of 100 pitches, and Andy Green turned to Nate Lavender with the bases loaded. Lavender had been dependable since his call-up, but this time the inning turned on him.
Daulton Varsho poked a low pitch into right for a single that put the Astros ahead 2-1, and Yanier Diaz followed with another single, this one off the end of the bat, to bring home the third run. Scott was charged with all three runs, and Lavender’s clean run with inherited runners came to an end.
Brown kept dealing after that. Jonathan Pintaro worked a scoreless seventh for the Mets, helped by Bo Bichette’s sharp grab on an Isaac Paredes shot to third and the inning-ending double play that followed.
Brown then gave way after Marcus Semien singled with two outs in the bottom half, finally closing the book on a strong outing. Bryan Abreu inherited the lead, let Semien move up on a wild pitch, then struck out Brett Baty to end the threat.
The Mets still had a chance to hang around thanks to strong late innings from Dedniel Núñez and Kodai Senga. Núñez handled the eighth with a pair of strikeouts, and Senga did the same in the ninth.
But the Astros’ bullpen shut the door. Abreu retired the Mets in order in the eighth, and Josh Hader did the same in the ninth to earn his 20th save of the season.
In Other News...
Mets Prospect Sammy Stafura Is Suddenly On A Fast Track
Sammy Stafuras path to Queens has moved quickly since the Mets acquired him on Aug. 3 in the deal that sent reliever Luke Weaver and cash to Cincinnati. The 2023 Panas graduate and Gatorade New York Baseball Player of the Year was already familiar with a fast-moving career arc after being drafted by the Reds and bouncing through multiple minor league stops, and he has now landed at High-A Brooklyn with a new organization that clearly sees more than just a depth piece.
Eduardo Nunez is among those who think Stafura could rise fast through the system, with the Mets manager saying the infielder has a chance to keep climbing quickly and even put himself in position for a big league debut as soon as next season. For a prospect still settling in with his new club, that kind of timetable raises the stakes immediately, especially for a player whose stock has climbed from local standout to someone the Mets are already talking about in the near future. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mets Pitcher Protected His Team In A Frightening Hotel Incident
Kevin Lomon spent part of his baseball life in the Mets orbit as a former major league pitcher, and now he is making an impact far from a big league mound as the head coach at Cameron High School. In Shawnee, Oklahoma, that role suddenly came with a far more serious responsibility when a hotel stay turned alarming and one of his players was confronted by a man with a knife.
Lomon stepped in, confronted the man identified as Christopher Stevens and held him until police got there, helping prevent the situation from getting worse. Stevens was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and public intoxication, and none of the players were hurt, a grim reminder that sometimes the people who have spent their lives around competition are the ones who have to protect it off the field. [Read more 🡒]
Jarred Kelenic May Need A Route Mets Fans Know Well
Jarred Kelenics path has already taken plenty of turns for a player who entered pro baseball with top-prospect expectations, and the latest one leaves him at another crossroads. After being traded by the Mariners and then moving through brief stops with the Braves, White Sox and Rangers, he was recently released by Texas, a reminder that his major league footing has never quite matched the talent evaluators once projected.
For Mets fans, the relevant part of this story is the familiar comeback route that has worked for others. Jared Young found his way back to MLB after rebuilding his game in the Korean Baseball Organization, and that kind of reset may be the clearest path available now for Kelenic as he tries to rediscover the version of himself that made him such a coveted name in the first place. [Read more 🡒]