For the third time this season Heath Bell blew a save and then took a loss, unraveling against the Mets in an extremely ugly outing.
Bell began the ninth inning with a 2-1 lead and walked four the first five batters he faced, with one ground out mixed in. His fourth walk forced in the tying run and then, with the bases still loaded and two outs, he served up a walk-off single to Kirk Nieuwenhuis on his 46th pitch.
Bell is 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA and more walks (7) than strikeouts (5) in 5.2 innings, blowing three of his five save chances.
And the “proven closer” isn’t even one month into his three-year, $27 million contract that pays him through age 36.
