Francisco Lindor, Mets drop series opener to Carlos Correa, Twins after rookie blunders

MINNEAPOLIS — The baby Mets have presented well over the last week, but it’s clear there is still a learning curve.

The Mets dropped the first game of a series against the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Friday night at Target Field after a defensive blunder in the bottom of the seventh squandered a competitive performance by right-hander Kodai Senga. With the game tied at 2-2 and Sean Reid-Foley trying to keep it tied, Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez couldn’t connect.

With runners on first and second and none out, the Twins executed a double steal. Andrew Stevenson overran the base and stumbled on a wild pitch, giving Alvarez time to throw him out at third.

But Alvarez, the rookie catcher, overthrew Baty at third. Baty’s throw home went wide and Stevenson came home to give Minnesota the lead. If the Mets are looking for things to improve on in the future, holding runners on base should be near the top of the list.

“He had trouble finding the ball and thought he had a play at third,” said manager Buck Showalter. “He’s out at the plate if we make the throw. It kind of starts with holding the runner to start with.”

Reid-Foley (0-1) got two outs, but the AL Central-leading Twins (74-67) rallied. Things fell apart for the Mets (64-76).

Royce Lewis doubled home Willi Castro. The Mets went to the bullpen for Grant Hartwig and Max Kepler singled to center to score Lewis.

Then came Carlos Correa, the shortstop who was supposed to be a Met this season.

Correa’s 12-year $315 million deal fell apart because of concerns about his physical. Negotiations dragged out and he ended up right back where he started last season in Minnesota. The rookie right-hander worked the count full on Correa before the shortstop took a cutter low and inside and pulled it down the left-field line for a double.

However, this time the damage was contained. Hartwig got Alex Kirilloff to ground out to end the inning.

Correa did enough damage earlier in the night when he homered off the pitcher that he once expected to be his teammate. The Mets went up 2-1 in the top of the fourth on a two-run double off left-hander Dallas Keuchel by Correa’s friend and Puerto Rican countrymate Francisco Lindor.

But Correa took Senga deep in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.

It was the only real blemish on an otherwise solid outing by right-hander Senga, who remained competitive throughout. He was undeterred when he missed his spots and when one pitch wasn’t working, he went to another.

“I know I wasn’t my best, but I really wanted to stay out there and go as long as I could,” Senga said through translator Hiro Fujiwara. “Just mixing in a lot of pitches. I had a lot of missed pitches too, but changing velocity and changing location and doing whatever I can to stay out there.”

The Mets have been conscious of his innings, not wanting to push him past a certain limit of what he’s been used to in Japan. However, he used 101 pitches through six innings with four walks driving up his pitch count. Minnesota took two runs off of Senga on four hits and he struck out five, exiting with the game tied 2-2.

The Twins scored one in the bottom of the first inning before Senga settled into the game. This is what the Mets have discovered about Senga — he doesn’t give in on nights when he doesn’t have a feel for all of his pitches.

“Just because I don’t feel good or I’m not feeling my best, it doesn’t mean I just fold and give up the game,” Senga said through Fujiwara. “I’m given four or five days to prepare for this game and I think it’s my job to stay out there and make the game winnable. I take pride in that, yeah.”

Senga’s season ERA is down to 3.07. He’ll receive some NL Rookie of the Year consideration, and some of it will likely be because of the way he has been able to persevere through tough outings during his first season in North America.

“A lot of times, those types of outings, where you’re not carrying the normal command of your pitches, are more impressive,” Showalter said.