NEW YORK -- The first thing Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said during his pregame meeting with the local media on Sunday morning was that he wanted right-hander Frankie Montas to be competitive with all of his pitches and give the team length.
That hasn’t happened for a Mets starting pitcher not named David Peterson since June 7 when Clay Holmes gave them six innings against the Rockies. That was the last time a New York starter other than Peterson completed six frames.
The streak continued, unfortunately.
A couple of hours later, Montas didn’t throw many competitive pitches in a 12-4 loss to the Giants at Citi Field. San Francisco took two out of three games to win the series.
Montas got off to a good start by retiring the first six hitters he faced. After that, it became a nightmare for the right-hander, who allowed four runs in the third inning. Rafael Devers highlighted the scoring with a mammoth three-run homer that landed in the upper deck in right field. It had an exit velocity of 105.9 mph while traveling a Statcast-projected 403 feet.
San Francisco punished Montas for three more runs an inning later. Devers and Heliot Ramos had RBI singles while Casey Schmitt scored on a fielder’s choice.
“He couldn’t get swings and misses,” Mendoza said about Montas’ outing. “Pitch selection, location -- I mean, that pitch to Devers was right down the middle [of the plate]. It was a four-seam [fastball] right there. … When you do that to good hitters, they are going to make you pay.
“In the first inning, the sinker, stuff-wise, was good. He was able to get some swings and misses with the split, but then, in that third inning, [the Giants] put the ball in play. They hit some balls hard, and Devers got him with a big one there.”
In his last two starts, Montas has allowed 12 runs over 8 1/3 innings, raising his season ERA from 4.62 to 6.68. Asked if there was any chance of Montas losing his spot in the rotation, Mendoza said: “We just got done with the game. He has to be better. He knows that.”
What does Montas need to do to be better in his next outing? He must execute his pitches and the sequencing has to be a lot better. Montas said he is going to look at the video on Monday and figure out what he is doing wrong on the mound.
“I have to keep working, to be honest with you. The season is not over,” Montas said. “There is a lot to improve. I’m definitely working to get better. I’m going to keep trying to make pitches and [get] outs.”
It looked as if Montas was going to have to take one for the team when he went back on the mound to start the fifth. But after Montas walked Matt Chapman, Mendoza put in right-hander Austin Warren, who saved the bullpen by pitching four scoreless innings.
But the game got out of hand in the ninth. Right-hander Ryne Stanek allowed five runs in two-thirds of an inning before Mendoza brought in catcher Luis Torrens to get the final out. He did so by getting Patrick Bailey to fly out to center fielder Cedric Mullins.
Mendoza also expressed some concern about his hitters not being able to hit left-handed pitching this year. Entering Sunday’s game, New York had a slash line of .226/.303/.356 against southpaws -- and the team was no better against Giants lefty Carson Whisenhunt. He allowed two runs (one earned) over 5 1/3 innings.
Francisco Lindor gave New York a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a solo homer, but Whisenhunt retired 11 of the next 12 hitters he faced. The Mets' other run against him came in the fifth when Jeff McNeil scored on a throwing error by right fielder Grant McCray.
“He has a good arm. He has a good fastball and the changeup was as advertised,” Mendoza said of Whisenhunt. “Going into the game, we knew the changeup was his best pitch. We saw flashes there. He has really good potential. He did one hell of a job for them.”