The New York Mets' offensive struggles continued in frustrating fashion on Sunday, as they fell 5-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks to close out a road trip that started with so much promise. The loss dropped the Mets to 15-25 on the season, and while they managed a 5-4 record on the trip, the team knows they need a serious winning streak to climb out of the early-season hole they've dug themselves into.
The bats have been the biggest culprit all season long, and Sunday was no exception. The Mets managed just two runs total in their two losses in Arizona, and their season total of 140 runs ranks second-worst in all of Major League Baseball—only the San Francisco Giants have scored fewer. To make matters worse, the defense also let them down, committing three errors that turned a close game into a lopsided one.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez continued to be a thorn in the Mets' side, dominating them for the second time this season. After holding New York to one run over seven innings back in early April, Rodriguez was even sharper on Sunday, allowing just one run over 8 1/3 innings. The Mets managed only four hits off him, with backup catcher Luis Torrens accounting for two of them.
Juan Soto, the team's biggest offseason acquisition, had two golden opportunities to make an impact with runners on base but flew out routinely in both the sixth and eighth innings. Soto is mired in a brutal slump at the worst possible time, going just 4-for-33 (.121) on the nine-game road trip and an even more alarming 2-for-26 (.077) over his last seven games. The Mets desperately need their star to snap out of it if they hope to turn things around.
On the pitching side, David Peterson turned in another solid outing as the bulk reliever, covering five innings. He might have kept the Diamondbacks off the board entirely if not for a costly error by Andy Ibanez in the sixth inning that led to three unearned runs. For whatever reason, Peterson seems to thrive out of the bullpen—he issued no walks on Sunday and struck out three, showing the kind of command that has eluded him as a starter.
Speaking of Ibanez, his debut at third base for the Mets was one to forget. He made two throwing errors, both high and wide to the home plate side. The second one, coming in the sixth inning, proved especially costly as the Diamondbacks capitalized with three unearned runs to take a commanding 5-1 lead. It's a tough lesson for a player learning a new position, but one the Mets can ill afford as they search for answers.