Mets release Jose Valverde following meltdown in 5
Jose Valverde was horrendous in relief Monday afternoon, so bad he was booed off the mound, and his meltdown in the eighth and ninth innings meant the Mets wasted another terrific start by rookie Jacob deGrom.
Valverde allowed four runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning and the pen squandered a two-run lead in the Mets' 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh in front of a Memorial Day crowd of 29,309 at Citi Field.
DeGrom threw 6.2 scoreless innings, sidestepping early trouble and wildness, and also added two hits, meaning he is batting .800 this season (4-for-5). He walked five and struck out four, throwing 122 pitches (67 strikes).
Valverde (1-1) gave up the tying run in the eighth inning and the winning runs in the ninth. Gaby Sanchez, who had hit a pinch-homer in the eighth batting for ex-Met Ike Davis, hit a tie-breaking RBI single off Valverde in the ninth and Andrew McCutchen scored an insurance run on Curtis Granderson's throwing error.
Russell Martin added an RBI double off Carlos Torres later in the inning.
Lucas Duda, who snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a second-inning single, hit his sixth homer in the ninth inning off Mark Melancon.
The loss was the Mets' ninth in 12 games and dropped them to 7-17 in May.
The bullpen had been solid recently, recording a 2.06 ERA in 52.1 innings over the previous 12 games. In Sunday's doubleheader, Met relievers allowed only an unearned run in six innings.
DeGrom, who has a 1.83 ERA in three starts, got a big hand when he came out of the game with two on and two out in the seventh inning and the Mets ahead, 2-0. But he left Jeurys Familia with a challenge - the tying runs on base and McCutchen, the reigning National League MVP, coming up.
Familia was up to it, though, catching McCutchen looking at a called strike three on an 86 mph slider, ending the threat.
But Scott Rice gave up Sanchez's homer starting the eighth - only the second homer allowed by a Met reliever in 20 games - and, two outs later, Valverde entered and gave up the lead.
Starling Marte doubled down the third-base line past David Wright and Jose Tabata followed with a pinch single to score the tying run.
Davis, who the Mets dealt to Pittsburgh April 18, played for the first time at Citi Field since the deal. He was warmly received with applause when he batted in the first inning, but he finished 0-for-2 with a walk.
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Mets finally broke through against Pittsburgh starter Brandon Cumpton. With two out, deGrom - who else? - singled and Juan Lagares walked.
Daniel Murphy followed with a liner into right-center for a hit that knocked in deGrom from second. Josh Harrison, the right fielder, tried to get Lagares at third, but threw wildly and Lagares dashed for the plate.
But the ball took a Pittsburgh carom off the visiting dugout fence, right back to third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Lagares dove headfirst for home but the thrown appeared to beat him there and he was called out by plate umpire Laz Diaz.
The umpires went to instant replay to determine if Martin had blocked the plate without the ball, illegal under the rules to limit collisions. After the review, Martin was deemed guilty and the Mets had a 2-0 lead.
Dillon Gee's recent setback in his rehab of a strained right lat muscle has probably lessened the immediacy of any competition between deGrom and Rafael Montero for who stays when Gee returns.
But both have continued to pitch with urgency and deGrom showed it by getting out of a one-out, bases-loaded snarl in the first and eluding trouble in the second when the first two hitters reached base.
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