Frankie Montas, Mets clobbered in rubber match against Giants

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Aug 3, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The Mets have developed a reputation for being able to fix back-end rotation arms, turning them into frontline starters.

They might have struck out on Frankie Montas.

The right-hander had another tough start Sunday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants took seven runs off of him in only four innings, costing them in a 12-4 loss. Montas was booed when he took the mound in the fifth inning with the Mets down by the same score, and booed even louder after walking Matt Chapman, the first hitter he faced.

Chapman would be the last batter he faced as well. The boos grew louder as Montas and his 6.68 ERA walked off the field.

The Mets (63-49) knew they weren’t going to bat 1.000 on each pitcher they took a chance on, and there is still time for Montas to turn it around. However, it’s tough to give pitchers the runway they need to fix whatever ails them this time of year, especially without much room in the standings.

It’s even tougher to give Montas runway when the Mets aren’t getting length out of their starters. Kodai Senga went only five innings in Saturday’s win. David Peterson, the workhorse of the staff, went six Friday night, which, to the Mets, might as well be about eight.

Montas retired the Giants in order in the first inning Sunday, coming back for the second with a 1-0 lead after Francisco Lindor hit home run No. 21 on the season in the bottom of the first off of left-hander Carson Whisenhunt. Once again, San Francisco went down in order in the second, but Montas fell apart in the third.

Two singles and an error trying to catch a runner stealing resulted in the Giants tying the game at 1-1. Montas struck out Grant McCray to bring up the top of the order. Heliot Ramos walked on five pitches, and Rafael Devers teed off on a fastball, sending it over the right-field fence for a three-run homer.

The fourth inning was more of the same, but without the home run. Montas mostly limited hard contact outside of the Devers homer, but the singles added up. Pete Alonso was unable to get a runner at home plate, and the run-scoring fielder’s choice didn’t help. Montas allowed four more runs in the fourth, bringing his total to seven earned on seven hits, walking two and striking out three in four innings (plus one batter).

Right-hander Austin Warren gave the Mets a chance to get back into the game with 4 innings of scoreless work, but once again, the Mets struggled to hit a lefty. Whisenhunt (1-0) held them to two runs (one earned) on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. Right-hander Jose Butto, who was traded to the Giants by the Mets last week for reliever Tyler Rogers, tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Another former Mets pitcher, left-hander Joey Lucchesi, put two on in the eighth inning, but struck out Alonso to end the threat.

The Giants (56-56) crushed Ryne Stanek for five earned runs in the top of the ninth, with Casey Schmitt sending a three-run homer over the left-field fence to end his day. Catcher Luis Torrens took over on the mound with two outs, becoming the 42nd pitcher to appear in a game for the Mets this season, setting a new club record.

The club continues to say they believe they will get length out of the rotation, and they will once they take the restrictions off pitchers like Sean Manaea. But they have to decide whether or not they can continue to give Montas chances every five days, or if they need to use his former A’s teammate, Paul Blackburn, or one of their prized pitching prospects in Triple-A.