Memo to Met GM Steve Phillips: Dial 1-800 WeTrade.
The Mets’ dire need for pitching, of both the starting and relieving variety, was brutally obvious after the Astros, a sizzling team that improved its July record to 18-8, lit up starter Jeff D’Amico and relievers Satoru Komiyama and Mark Corey to beat the Mets 16-3 at Shea last night.
The Mets pitching staff gave up a season-high 20 hits.
With today’s 4 p.m. trade deadline streaking closer, like the Astros, D’Amico gave the Mets no reason to believe they couldn’t use another starter. Komiyama and Corey, both righties, gave up 11 runs in relief, giving the Mets no reason to believe they couldn’t use more help in the pen.
“I don’t feel any sense of urgency in any one aspect,” Phillips said before the Mets suffered their worst loss since Aug. 22, 2000, when they lost 16-1 at San Diego. “We have a chance to win every night.”
Not last night. It was 16-1 after the fifth.
“It’s forgotten when you’re in the fifth,” Met slugger Mo Vaughn said of the rout. “You just focus on what you have to do [today].”
Met fans can only hope Phillips is doing some serious speed-dialing. And faxing. And Steve, don’t turn off the cell phone.
D’Amico (5-9, 5.09 ERA) turned in his shortest outing of the season, going just three innings. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits, walked three and struck out one.
“We’ve been playing well of late,” said D’Amico. “It’s frustrating to go out there and get hit around a bunch.”
The Mets are in danger of losing their first series since the All-Star break and falling into a tougher jam in the wild-card race. The Astros and Mets now have identical records (54-51) and are looking up at the Reds, Giants and Dodgers.
The only offensive highlight for the Mets was provided by Vaughn’s first-pitch homer to open the bottom of the second, a 435-foot shot to center. Offense wasn’t the problem this night. D’Amico was. And Komiyama (0-3, 6.25 ERA) was. And Corey (0-3, 4.50 ERA) was.
After D’Amico got abused for four runs on five hits in the second, Brad Ausmus and Geoff Blum opened the third with back-to-back singles. Houston rookie start Kirk Saarloos laid down a pretty sac bunt to advance both runners. Julio Lugo lashed a sac RBI line drive to left as Houston regained its four-run lead.
Komiyama came on the fourth and, after getting two quick outs, gave up consecutive singles and then a three-run homer to Ausmus. Komiyama needed 46 pitches to get three outs in the fourth. He gave up Saarloos’ first major-league hit, one of six hits in the inning, which ties the most surrendered by the Mets in a frame this season.
“I couldn’t throw to the spot I wanted to,” Komiyama. “It was bad location of my pitches.”
Komiyama got pulled in the fifth after being charged with seven earned runs in one-plus innings. He sprinted to the dugout, possibly running from the eyes of his father, Mamoru, wife, Tomoko, daughters, Moe and Aya and son Shou, who where at Shea seeing him pitch in the majors for the first time.
“He got the first two outs and wasn’t very good after that,” manager Bobby Valentine said. “Same thing with Mark Corey.”
Corey gave up four runs, two earned.
The Mets used five pitchers on the night. Jaime Cerda and Scott Strickland pitched three scoreless innings. Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman had all been pulled from the game.
“With an off day [Monday], we had enough arms to make through the night,” said Valentine.
Clearly, the Mets don’t have the right arms.
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PITCH POOR
A look at how first three Met hurlers fared last night vs. Astros
PITCHER // IP // H // R // ER // BB // ERA
D’AMICO // 3 // 8 // 5 // 5 // 3 // 15.00
KOMIYAMA // 1 // 8 // 7 // 7 // 1 // 63.00
COREY // 2 // 4 // 4 // 2 // 1 // 9.00
TOTALS // 6 // 20 // 16 // 14 // 5 // 21.00