Mets Starter's Sloppy Performance Dooms Team in Loss to Rays

NEW YORK — An ineffective Tylor Megill buried the Mets early against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. After waiting through a 51-minute rain delay, fans let him know they weren’t happy.

In the Mets’ 8-4 loss, fans showered Megill with boos after Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pulled him from the game in the middle of the fourth inning.

With New York looking to erase the memory of Friday night’s loss, when the Mets’ bullpen squandered a 5-1 lead , they were dealt even more misery — this time from their starter.

After looking sharp in his first two innings, allowing just one base runner on a hit by pitch, Megill came undone, like pulling a piece of thread from a knit sweater.

It started slowly, but the signs were there.

In the third inning, he served up a one-run ground-rule double to shortstop Taylor Walls . A single by the next batter scored Walls from second, putting the Rays ahead 1-0.

In the fourth inning, after the Mets responded with two runs to take the lead, the Rays decided they’d had enough and finished Megill.

They pounced on him for five runs on four hits and an error — by Megill — batting around the order, plus one more batter before Mets manager Carlos Mendoza decided to go to the bullpen.

“I feel like he was fine the first time through the order, and then in that fourth inning ... he gets a strikeout and then he doesn’t make a play on that bunt, that safety squeeze,” Mendoza told reporters after the game.

In the end, Megill easily had his worst start of the season, allowing six runs (three earned) in 3 2/3 innings on seven hits, two walks, and two hit batters.

It’s the most runs Megill had allowed since June 22, 2024, against the Chicago Cubs .

“There were a lot of non-competitive pitches,” Mendoza said.

Megill admitted he didn’t have a feel for the slider, especially against lefties on Saturday. The Rays, batting five lefties and two switch hitters, capitalized on this.

The Rays tagged on a security run, taking advantage of an error by reliever José Castillo , who couldn’t catch an assist by first baseman Pete Alonso cleanly.

In the third inning, after the Rays got on the board first, the Mets answered back. Second baseman Brett Baty hit a home run just over the wall in right field to tie the game.

Baty has cooled off in the month of June, going 6-for-42 (.143 batting average) with two home runs. Hopefully, this home run will serve to heat him up once again.

“It was good to see him with balance, getting ready early and getting the barrel through the hitting zone,” Mendoza said of Baty after the game.

Shorstop Francisco Lindor followed with a two-out double down the right field line. This set up left fielder Brandon Nimmo , who scored Lindor from second on a bloop single to put the Mets ahead 2-1.

In the fifth inning, with the Mets trailing 7-2, third baseman Ronny Mauricio decided to get fans back into the game. He smoked a first-pitch fastball, high in the zone, over the fence in right for a solo home run.

Nimmo and Lindor teamed up again to narrow Tampa’s lead to 7-4. This time, Lindor drew a walk after Mauricio’s home run. Nimmo followed with a sharp single to right field, his third hit of the night.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com .

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit The News Pulse. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.