NEW YORK _ There was no magic this time. There were weird occurrences, as should be expected with this team, but none provided a dramatic victory.
The team that has mounted many late-inning comebacks almost did again, but fell short. The Mets lost to the Tigers, 9-8, at Citi Field, snapping a four-game winning streak.
Again, New York failed to sync up its pitching and hitting. The hitting almost made up for the lack of pitching, but not quite.
Noah Syndergaard allowed six earned runs, including four in the first two frames. He gave up a lead toward the end of his outing.
In the seventh, right after the Mets took another lead, Drew Gagnon surrendered three runs. He hadn't allowed any since April 16, a span of 8 2/3 innings.
The bats tried to pick up the pitching all night. Adeiny Hechavarria smashed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth. Then Syndergaard gave the lead back.
Just when it seemed this week couldn't get weirder or wilder, a guy with one hit in 30 at-bats this season, who got to New York at 7 a.m. on Friday, stepped up and cranked a go-ahead home run to left field like it was nothing.
That's how Aaron Altherr introduced himself to Mets fans in the sixth inning. Before the game, he said he felt like he needed to get more reps to get his bat on track. Well, his performance through one at-bat should help the cause.
Altherr joined a line of unlikely contributors this week. Rajai Davis ended a whirlwind day with a three-run homer in his first at-bat as a Met on Wednesday, and it came right after Juan Lagares smoked a bases-clearing double. Carlos Gomez smashed a three-run home run on Thursday.
And in the eighth inning on Friday, Wilson Ramos sent one into the seats to bring New York within a run. Hechavarria followed with a double, but Dominic Smith _ who has been so good off the bench _ struck out to end the inning.
Perhaps the greatest sign of this Friday's craziness is that what happened late almost took the spotlight off Syndergaard's poor start. He wasn't sharp as he gave up 10 hits and a few boos when he exited. It is still a talking point, but less so because so much happened after he left.
The Tigers entered this series 11 games under .500. Even with Friday's loss, this week still could be viewed as progress for the Mets thus far. If they are swept by Detroit, then it isn't.
But New York has dealt with injuries in the best way possible. The Mets entered the week in shambles but used a slew of comebacks against a bad Washington bullpen to remain afloat. They are only two games under .500 with a lot of time to make up ground, but a four-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles will say a lot about this club.
The Mets have shown resiliency this week. They've scratched to erase deficits, fought for comeback victories.
On Friday, the Mets' offense could not be blamed. They did not waste a good start, or fall flat.
The bats packed plenty of fireworks, but those weren't enough.
