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’ best pitching prospect tried, with one night, to prove he could do everything.
Scott could battle.
Christian Scott, who allowed just one run, tips his hat to the crowd after exiting in the seventh inning of the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Rays. Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY SportsHe could sail.
He could pitch to soft contact, and he could turn to filth to generate swings that made major league hitters look amateur.
Explore More
A large part of the future of the Mets took the stage and made a case to never leave it.
Just about 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.
Mets rookie Christian Scott delivers a pitch during his major league debut. Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY SportsThey were burned by a pair of bases-loaded walks in the eighth inning — first by the previously excellent Adam Ottavino and then Sean Reid-Foley — that forced in the go-ahead runs.
Wasted was a brilliant play from Francisco Lindor, who had gotten the inning’s second out with a force at home plate on a backhanded stab and fadeaway throw to the plate.
Carlos Mendoza’s group, which has dropped nine of 13 and is below .500 for the first time since April 14, has a questionable present but a future that suddenly looks brighter.
Harrison Bader reacts after striking out in the eighth inning of the Mets’ loss. Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY SportsPitching in front of an estimated 50 family and friends — plus a sizable portion of the 7 Line Army, which cheered him on during warmups — Scott first survived and then thrived.
The 24-year-old Floridian twirled 6 ⅔ innings of one-run ball, both efficient and excellent for a Mets team that has needed both.
