Citi Field video board malfunction latest embarrassment for Mets
The game started off a nightmare for the Mets, and it quickly got more embarrassing, too.
The new Citi Field video board briefly shut off during an at-bat in the sixth inning with the Mets trailing the Rays, 6-1, on Tuesday night.
The malfunction caused a short stoppage in play, and —making matters worse — when it turned back, on it displayed a Rays logo that covered the entire screen.
Mets fans, already in an ornery mood after booing Justin Verlander off the field after his awful debut at Citi Field, also voiced their displeasure after the video snafu.
And that wasn’t the end of the bad news for the Mets fans.
After the video malfunction was fixed, Jose Siri blasted a solo home run to give the Rays a 7-1 lead in a game they eventually won 8-5.
Siri’s shot was the third homer in the game for the Rays.
Isaac Paredes previously hit two homers and drove in five runs off Verlander, who allowed six runs in five innings.
This was Verlander’s third outing since recovering from a teres major strain.
The 40-year-old veteran right-hander — who signed a two-year, $86.6 million deal this offseason to join the Mets — had been one of the few bright spots since joining the rotation after spending the first month of the season on the IL.
In his first two outings as a Met, the right-hander allowed just three runs in 12 innings.
The Mets’ video board had an awkward snafu on Tuesday night. Bally Sports Sun
But his ERA rose to an unsightly 4.76 after Tuesday’s debacle.
Pete Alonso belted a two-run homer, his 14th of the season, in the bottom of the seventh for a rare Mets’ bright spot to cut the Rays’ lead to 7-3.
Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run homer in the ninth driving in Alonso, but it wasn’t enough.
Source: New York Post
