Mets walked 17 times by A’s pitchers in 17-6 romp in Oakland; Francisco Lindor smacks grand slam

OAKLAND — There was a total of $286,425,268 between the two teams on the field Friday, and did it ever show.

The Mets posted some gaudy numbers against the lowly Oakland A’s on Friday night but don’t let them fool you because 28 other teams are going to post gaudy numbers against the A’s this season.

The Mets have to parse out what’s behind those numbers after obliterating the A’s 17-6 at RingCentral Coliseum. Five pitchers and one position player tasked with mopping up the A’s mess combined to issue 17 walks, tied for the third-most allowed in a nine-inning game in Major League history.

For the Mets (8-6), it illustrated a patient approach at the plate.

“We passed the baton, no one was trying to be a hero,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “We were focused on trying to get a good pitch and if it wasn’t there, we’d take it.”

Every member of the starling lineup walked at least once. Former Mets closer Jeurys Familia allowed four runs without even issuing a hit. It was ridiculous. It was the type of game the Mets of old would have been on the other end of in the past.

“We’re a team that, when we’re going well, we’re real selective,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Tonight was a good example of that.”

It’s a sad state of affairs in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area right now. The team is fielding a subpar roster and fans are protesting the product on the field and the threat of relocation by not showing up to the ballpark.

The A’s let their starting pitcher, former Yankees first-round pick James Kaprielian (0-2), issue four straight walks without taking him out of the game. They rolled out a reliever, Hogan Harris, with a career ERA of 135.00. Harris pitched like a reliever with a career ERA of 135.00.

Don’t blame the pitchers; they’re simply victims of questionable organizational management. And you certainly can’t blame the few fans that actually showed up to watch the Mets feast on A’s pitchers who couldn’t find the strike zone.

Francisco Lindor went 2-for-5 with his sixth career grand slam and seven RBI to tie his career high. Brandon Nimmo went 2-for-4 with two walks, a double, two RBI and three runs scored, and Starling Marte went 2-for-3 with three walks, a double, three RBI and two runs scored.

“The grand slam was a changeup and the next pitch was a cutter or a slider,” Lindor said. “They were good pitches for me to hit. I put a good swing on them.”

However, it wasn’t all positive.

Kodai Senga found it difficult to sit through the long half-innings and wasn’t able to go more than 4 2/3 innings. He went to the bullpen at one point to play catch and keep his arm warm.

“There isn’t much space for me to warm back up and get ready for the next inning,” Senga said through a translator. “That’s just something I need to prepare for next time.”

Typically, Senga would throw in the batting cage at Citi Field or in other, more modern fields, but the argument about the Coliseum is another one for another day.

“It’s a new ballpark I’ve never pitched in before,” Senga said. “But even so, it’s up to me to prepare and because the game went like that, I think I needed to concentrate even harder than usual, which I wasn’t able to do.”

Senga allowed four earned runs on seven hits, walked four and struck out seven.

The Mets were counting on Nogosek’s ability to eat a few innings, but he left the game after taking a line drive off his elbow sixth inning with two outs. X-rays were negative but Nogosek will likely be out for a few days.

Now, the Mets have to figure out how to configure the bullpen for the next nine games of the road trip and figure out whether or not they can still use a sixth starter in Los Angeles.

Dennis Santana (1-0) came on in relief and looked shaky, despite earning the win. He collided with Tyler Wade at first base in the eighth. It was a mess.

And just to put the exclamation point on an eventful day, Eduardo Escobar went 1-for-5 to lower his season average to .114 just hours after Brett Baty hit a grand slam with Triple-A Syracuse. His eighth-inning, two-run double came off catcher Carlos Perez.

Lindor’s home-run swing was about the only thing in this game that was pretty. But still, it was a win over a team the Mets needed to beat.