ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nothing was promised to Christian Scott, who took a major league mound for the first time without an assured second start.
It was as if the Mets’ top pitching prospect was trying, in one night, to prove he could do it all.
Scott could fight.
He knew how to sail.
He could throw to soft contact, and he could turn to the dirt to generate swings that made major league hitters look amateurish.
A large part of the Mets’ future took the stage and pleaded to never leave it.
The only thing he couldn’t do was hit, his offense letting him down in a 3-1 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday.
The Mets (16-17) never found the big hit they needed, going 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
They were burned by a pair of walks loaded in the eighth inning – first by the previously excellent Adam Ottavino, then by Sean Reid-Foley – that forced runs.
Wasted was a brilliant play by Francisco Lindor, who had the second out of the inning with a force at the plate on a backhand hit and a fadeaway pitch to the plate.
Carlos Mendoza’s group, which has lost nine of 13 and is below .500 for the first time since April 14, has a questionable present but a future that suddenly looks more promising.
Appearing in front of about 50 family and friends – as well as a sizable portion of the 7th Line Army, who cheered him on during warm-ups – Scott first survived, then thrived.
The 24-year-old Floridian spun 6 ⅔ innings of one-run ball, both efficient and excellent for a Mets team that needed both.
New York Post
