DENVER _ Pitching Jason Vargas at Coors Field was a gamble and the New York Mets lost.
The veteran lefty gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs and was chased in the third inning of the Mets' 10-8 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Mets (31-39), who have now only won four of their last 17 games. They also dropped 11 games back in the National League East.
The Rockies (35-38) put up six runs in the third inning and the Mets spent the rest of the night chasing them.
It all started with Vargas struggling. He allowed seven runs on nine hits with no walks and no strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
Vargas gave up a two-run shot to Nolan Arenado and solo shots to Trevor Story and Ian Desmond. It was the first time a Met had given up three straight homers since Bartolo Colon did it on April 13, 2014, against the Angels.
The Rockies added another homer off Hansel Robles in the fourth.
The Mets had chances to rally against the Rockies' expensive but ineffective bullpen. After investing $100 million on relievers this past offseason, they have been shaky. Monday night, the Mets scored nine runs off them.
The Mets rallied for six off the Rockies bullpen Tuesday, but couldn't overcome that early hole that Vargas dug for them.
