PHOENIX _ There reached a point on Monday night when the only options were bad ones. For manager Terry Collins, it came in the seventh inning, when righthander Zack Wheeler allowed a leadoff single.
That's when it became clear that the fate of the New York Mets would be placed in the shaky hands of a burned-out bullpen.
One inning later, the Mets endured their recurring nightmare, with an overwhelmed Hansel Robles absorbing the brunt of the punishment in a 7-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Robles retired the final man in the seventh, then allowed the Diamondbacks to stage a home run derby in the eighth, the beginning of a six-run outburst.
Two batters after Paul Goldschmidt narrowly missed a go-ahead solo homer, Robles served up a three-run shot to Yasmany Tomas, who crushed a 97 mph fastball off the batter's eye well above the 25-foot fence in straightaway center.
Three batters later, Jeff Mathis drilled a two-run shot off Robles, who has yielded nine runs in his last two outings. Josh Edgin entered only to surrender a solo shot to pinch hitter Daniel Descalso.
In one inning, the Diamondbacks transformed a 1-1 tie into another bullpen-induced rout, while sending the skidding Mets (16-21) to their fifth consecutive loss.
The Mets appeared to catch a break in the eighth, when Goldschmidt's homer was ruled a ground-rule double. Replay showed the drive struck the yellow line in center instead of clearing it. But even that call wasn't enough to spare the Mets, who got a two-run shot out of Wilmer Flores in the ninth, though it was mostly cosmetic.
Rene Rivera gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the second inning, poking a single to right. He set a career high by extending his hitting streak to nine games, though it was the Mets' only hit against Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley.
Meanwhile, Wheeler's effort went to waste. Though he allowed seven hits in six-plus innings, he gave up only one run on Jake Lamb's solo shot in the sixth.
After missing two seasons coming back from Tommy John Surgery, Wheeler showed encouraging signs. He averaged 95 mph with his fastball and threw 108 pitches, his most since coming back. He struck out six and walked one, delivering a rare quality start for the Mets.
On April 28, Jacob deGrom limited the Nationals to three runs in seven innings. No Mets starter has recorded an out in the seventh inning since. In the 14 games that followed, the starting rotation combined for an ERA of 7.54, with a staggering 5.1 walks per nine innings. The length of the average start: 4 2/3 innings.
On Monday, that streak reached 15 games, though Wheeler at least gave the Mets a chance.
As he did on Sunday with Jacob deGrom, Collins allowed Wheeler to begin the seventh inning, hoping to squeeze perhaps three more outs out of a starter before turning things over to a bullpen that has been weakened by early overuse.
For the third time this season, Wheeler allowed one run or fewer in his start. The rest of the Mets rotation has accomplished the feat only twice.
