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Hitting with runners in scoring position is hardly a new problem for the Mets, but with a revamped lineup, the hope was that those issues could be behind the club. Over the first three games of the season, it’s clear the team still has a lot of work to do in that department. After leaving ten runners on base on Monday and six more in last night’s victory, the Mets went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 14 more on base as they dropped the series final 8-2 to the Phillies.
The Mets played pretty much the entire game from behind in Philadelphia. After failing to capitalize on a leadoff single by Brandon Nimmo in the first, David Peterson took the hill and labored from the start. Over the course of his 38-pitch frame, he went to five three-ball counts and was constantly behind hitters, eventually serving up an opposite field solo home run to Rhys Hoskins. After Bryce Harper hit a screaming liner for a double off the right field wall and J.T. Realmuto walked, Alec Bohm hit a mammoth home run to left-center to put the Mets in a four-run hole. Peterson was eventually able to end the inning, but the damage was done.