Mets blow late lead to Rangers, waste Tylor Megill’s strong start

In the Mets’ 4-3 loss Tuesday night, the Rangers got Gott.

Trevor Gott, a journeyman righthanded reliever and the closer for the day, allowed a two-out, two-run, go-ahead single to Nathaniel Lowe, the decisive blow in a game the Mets had controlled since the early innings.

Managing a patchwork bullpen, Buck Showalter was without Adam Ottavino, who had pitched the previous two days, and already used Brooks Raley in the eighth inning. Hence the presence of Gott, who recorded a save in St. Louis this month.

Also under the category of pseudo-tryouts for the Mets’ 2024 bullpen, Sean Reid-Foley (scoreless inning, touched 98 mph) and Sam Coonrod (retired two of three batters) contributed scoreless late-and-close appearances.

Gott’s blown save, though, made a waste of Tylor Megill’s best start since at least June and maybe since April.

He held Texas — boasting the third-highest-scoring offense in the majors — to one run and five hits in six innings, striking out a season-high eight and walking just one.

Brandon Nimmo’s two-run homer in the third and DJ Stewart’s solo shot in the sixth accounted for all of the Mets’ scoring.

Those long balls came against righthander Jon Gray, who allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. He struck out nine and walked one.

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.