Final Score: Diamondbacks 7, Mets 2—Niese slightly better, Mets still lose badly

The bullpen allowed four runs in the eighth to put this one away for the D-backs.

Jon Niese was mediocre tonight. The Mets' offense was mediocre as well. The Mets' bullpen was pretty terrible. Combine those three aspects of tonight's game versus the Diamondbacks, and the result, a 7-2 loss, can hardly be surprising.

Niese's start was an improvement over his last few outings. Granted, he didn't exactly set a high bar for himself, but it's still worth noting. He struck out eight, allowed only two earned runs, and kept the ball on the ground. He also made a couple of nice plays in the field. On the other hand, he made an ill-advised throw to first that allowed an unearned run to score, and…