ATLANTA -- There is no prospect cavalry coming from Triple-A Las Vegas to rescue the New York Mets at the plate, manager Terry Collins noted late Sunday.
Collins’ pronouncement came after the Mets were held hitless into the fifth inning for the third time in a week in what became a 1-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. It marked the Mets’ fifth straight loss. They have scored six runs during that stretch.
“We’ve had everybody from Triple-A here,” Collins said. “One guy hitting .500 [with Las Vegas], he’s here. Another guy hitting .375, he’s here. Another guy hitting .350, he’s here. I don’t know what you want me to tell you. We’ve done everything we can. We’ve brought all those guys up that are swinging the bats good. This is not the [Pacific] Coast League. You can make all the changes you want. When they come up here, they’ve got to get the job done. That’s what we’re look at.”
Julio Teheran held the Mets to one hit in seven scoreless innings on Sunday.
Trailing by a run in the ninth against fill-in closer Jim Johnson, the Mets got Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares on base with none out. However, Lucas Duda flied out and Michael Cuddyer grounded into a game-ending double play as the Braves completed a three-game sweep.
“You get two guys on and you’re down by one and you want to come through,” Cuddyer said. “Unfortunately, I just didn’t get the job done.”
Said Collins: “We’re just not squaring any balls up. We’re hitting fly ball after fly ball -- routine fly balls. We are a fly-ball-hitting team. There’s no question about that, because we’re a team that’s supposed to hit some home runs. That’s my issue more than anything, because we’re not getting balls to drive.”
Just like Jacob deGrom in Friday’s 2-1 series-opening loss, Matt Harvey became a tough-luck loser.
Harvey held the Braves scoreless through 6 2/3 innings. He then surrendered a double to No. 8 hitter Ryan Lavarnway. With his pitch count at a season high, Harvey then fell behind in the count to pinch-hitter Pedro Ciriaco, 2-0. Harvey thought he broke Ciriaco’s bat with the next pitch, but it nonetheless was deposited into center field for an RBI single.
“We’re all disappointed,” Harvey said. “I’m kicking myself for those two batters in the seventh.”
Said Collins about the lack of run support: “You’re living on the edge when you don’t have much to work with.”
The manager added: “We’re getting used to watching some pretty good pitching and we can’t score. It’s a little frustrating for everybody.”