Manaea battling to find form: 'This is a guy that we're counting on'
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PHILADELPHIA -- Not only are the Mets’ rotation problems lingering well into the final month of the season, they’re routinely causing them to lose games in the height of a playoff race.
While New York’s rookie trio of Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat has pitched admirably in recent weeks, they represent just half the team’s six-man rotation. The other half -- Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes and David Peterson -- has struggled.
Tuesday, Manaea allowed four runs over the first two innings at Citizens Bank Park, which was more than the Phillies needed in a 9-3 victory. The loss shaved the Mets’ National League Wild Card edge to two games with 17 to play, though it’s effectively three games because they hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over their next-closest competitor, the Giants.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Manaea said. “I’m very, very frustrated with myself. For it to continue like this is very, very frustrating.”
The past two months have been a slog for Manaea, who has allowed four or more earned runs in six of his last seven starts. Though Manaea settled down to retire nine of the final 10 batters he faced on Tuesday, he still owns a 7.71 ERA since the start of August.
Still, the Mets intend to give Manaea more chances. He will make another start next week against the Padres, manager Carlos Mendoza said, providing an opportunity for him to build upon his final three innings in Philadelphia.
“This is a guy that we’re counting on,” Mendoza said. “He was huge for us last year. I know this has been a struggle for him, and obviously he’s frustrated, too. But we’re going to need this guy. We brought this guy in here to make an impact, and our job is to continue to help him. Obviously the last three innings were a lot better, and hopefully he can take some positives out of this outing with that.”
On this night, it didn’t help that New York’s offense went 15 consecutive innings without scoring before Mark Vientos led off the seventh with a homer. Ranger Suárez shut the Mets down for the first six innings, striking out a career-high 12 batters and allowing just one hit.
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With the victory, the Phillies increased their National League East advantage to nine games -- an all but insurmountable lead with 17 to play.
At this point, the Mets are focused on a Wild Card berth. If they have any designs on not just holding off the Giants, but running deep into October for a second straight year, they’ll need better contributions from Manaea, Peterson and Holmes.
It was just one year ago that Manaea was the Mets’ de facto ace, leveraging a midseason arm-angle change into one of the best second halves of any Major League pitcher. Manaea’s standout performance against the Phillies in NL Division Series Game 3 was one of the highlights of the year for the Mets.
After the season, the left-hander re-signed on a three-year, $75 million contract. But he missed Opening Day with a right oblique injury, and doctors subsequently discovered a loose body in his left elbow, which could require surgery after the season. Manaea finally made it back in July, pitching well at first before descending into his current five-week funk.
“It hasn’t been fun,” Manaea said. “It’s been very frustrating. I don’t really know how to put it into words.”
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Already, Mets officials have begun discussing a potential postseason rotation that doesn’t include Manaea. But that doesn’t have to be his fate. After the second inning Tuesday, Manaea went into the clubhouse tunnel for a discussion with Mendoza, who encouraged him to rein in his frustrations.
At that point, Manaea said, “I just said, ‘Screw it. It can’t be any worse.’ I just let go and started to pitch.”
The result, for three innings at least, was vintage Manaea. Mets officials will be watching closely to see if he can carry that momentum forward into his next start.
“It’s a letting go of all these things that I want to do, and just going out and pitching,” Manaea said. “Just trying to be free. And I feel like I actually did that the third through the fifth.”