Mets' bullpen implodes to begin second half of season with loss to Reds

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Jul 18, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The second half of the Mets‘ 2025 season started on a high note, but the high didn’t last.

Left-hander Sean Manaea made his return to Citi Field on Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out the side in the first inning and walking off the mound as the ballpark speakers played “The Boys are Back in Town.” Juan Soto hit a home run off of left-hander Nick Lodolo in the bottom of the inning, and a packed crowd roared.

It wasn’t long before they started booing.

Right-hander Alex Carrillo gave up three home runs, two in the sixth inning, for a total of five earned runs. It put the Mets in a hole that they weren’t able to climb out of, losing 8-4.

Carrillo (0-1) was pitching in only his third major league game. A 28-year-old who grew up in California before playing in the Mexican Leagues and the independent Frontier League, the Mets signed him after seeing him play in Venezuela in a winter league game last year. With Manaea on a pitch count, the Mets removed him after four innings and 69 pitches. He exited with a 2-1 lead, but it was soon erased.

Not wanting to use a high-leverage reliever in the middle innings, the Mets went to Carrillo. With two outs in the top of the fifth, Carrillo hit T.J. Friedl with a pitch before throwing two straight fastballs to Matt McLain, who sent the second over the left-field fence to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Austin Hays led off with his second home run of the game, homering on the first pitch he saw from Carrillo. Spencer Steer walked on five pitches, and after getting the first out, Carrillo threw a fastball on 1-0 to Tyler Stephenson, who put it into the seats in left-center field to increase the Cincinnati lead to 6-2.

All three home runs came off four-seam fastballs. Carrillo hit 98 mph in the fifth inning but couldn’t maintain his velocity or his movement on the pitch. Manager Carlos Mendoza made no move for a reliever after the home run, finally replacing him with left-hander Brandon Waddell after he walked the next batter, Jose Trevino.

Waddell gave up a run before getting an out, and he lost the strike zone with two outs in the eighth, hitting Freidl and walking the next three hitters.

Manaea limited the Reds to only one run on four hits, walking one and striking out six in his second start of the season, but after he left the game the Mets weren’t able to add on any runs.

Nick Lodolo (7-6) held them to two earned over seven innings in the win.

Fans can boo all they want at the thought of having to watch two Triple-A pitchers throwing meatballs to a team fighting for a wild-card berth, but the Mets are using Carrillo and Waddell because they think they can help the team win games. However, trying to squeeze five innings out of two mop-up relievers with a rested bullpen was a strange decision, but what’s even more strange is the lack of offense coming from what should be a deep lineup.

The Mets scored two in the bottom of the ninth, taking advantage of a sloppy Cincinnati defense and firing up the fans who stayed for all nine. But the rally fell short.

If this game was a sign of what’s to come in the second half, the Mets (55-43) will be battling with teams like the Reds (51-47) for a wild-card spot instead of making a push for a pennant.