NEW YORK -- There was plenty of drama Tuesday night at Citi Field, and not the kind New York Mets manager Terry Collins was complaining about. Then again, since the result of all the drama was a 2-1 Mets loss to the Miami Marlins, Collins probably won't like the way this game is perceived, either.
Collins' team has lost four straight, but the losses seem to bother the manager less than the public reaction to them.
"We're not down," Collins said Tuesday afternoon. "We're fine. But when you come to the ballpark every day and keep getting hit with a pie in the face that you're not very good, you don't like it.
"We are good."
Noah Syndergaard was very good Tuesday, showing off his 100-mph fastballs and 93-mph sliders and striking out 12 in seven innings. The Mets’ offense wasn't nearly as good, failing to take advantage of early opportunities against Jose Fernandez and handing Syndergaard a no-decision when he left a 1-1 game.
The Mets bullpen wasn't great, either, with Jim Henderson throwing a drama-filled 34 pitches to get just one out in the decisive eighth inning. Henderson lost a 16-pitch battle to start the eighth, and after back-to-back walks, he left with the bases loaded and watched Martin Prado give the Marlins the lead with a sacrifice fly.
Syndergaard now has six double-digit strikeout games in his first 26 career starts, the same as Matt Harvey. Among Mets pitchers, only Dwight Gooden had more, and his 11 were the most by any pitcher from any team, according to research through Baseball-reference.com.
No research is needed to add up the Mets' record, which stands at 2-5, their worst seven-game start since 2010. Drama, indeed.
