The Mets lost 3-1 on the road to the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday night, spoiling what could have been a memorable night for newcomer Christian Scott and his team.

Here are the takeaways...

1)Scott lived up to the recent hype as a fast-rising pitching prospect who had been posting big strikeout numbers in Triple-A. He pitched 6.2 innings in an outstanding debut, allowing one run while recording six strikeouts and 18 swings-and-misses, mixing a 96-97 mph fastball with his newly-developed sweeper.

Perhaps most impressively, Scott also lived up to Mets’ raves about his poise, barely flinching when he gave up hits to the first three hitters he faced. He got out of trouble with minimum damage as he retired the next 12 hitters he faced.

Scott also drew high praise from former All-Star pitcher Adam Wainwright, working the game for FOX, who repeatedly complimented the rookie and at one point said, “The guy’s stuff is electric. E-lectric.”

And speaking of the late life on Scott’s fastball, he said, “That 96 (on the radar gun) looks like 106 to me.”

2)The Mets bullpen, so good all season, couldn’t get the job done in the eighth inning, as Adam Ottavino and Sean Reid-Foley each walked in runs.

Ottavino has been excellent this season, but the Rays loaded the bases on him with two singles (one a lucky slow bouncer) and a walk. With the score tied 1-1, he went to 3-2 on lefty-hitting Austin Shenton before throwing a slider in the dirt to force in the go-ahead run.

Sean Reid-Foley then relieved Ottavino, who threw a season-high 35 pitches and walked Jose Caballero to give the Rays a 3-1 lead.

3)It went for naught, as it turned out, but Francisco Lindor made a brilliant defensive play to keep the game tied in the eighth, at least temporarily.

With one out and the bases loaded, and the infield in, Lindor went hard to his right to field Randy Arozarena’s ground ball and, in one motion, turned and threw to the plate to get a force out. A play that probably only a few shortstops could have made.

4)Pete Alonso’s struggles at the plate continued Saturday night, as he went 0-for-3, with two strikeouts, dropping his season average to .214.

Alonso is now 1-for-26 over his last eight games. Yet the Rays still showed him respect in the eighth inning, intentionally walking him with the go-ahead run on third and two outs. This is where the Mets hope the signing of J.D. Martinez, an excellent RBI guy throughout his career, pays dividends over the course of the season, but on this night he hit a one-hopper to short to end the inning.

5)Stolen bases continue to be a major issue for the Mets. After the Cubs ran wild on them last week, the Rays went 2-for-2 Saturday night, making the Mets 1-for-46 on the season in nailing base-stealers.

Both times the runner went to third on throwing errors by Tomas Nido, as one throw sailed wide and another bounced past Jeff McNeil. Either could have proved costly, with the game tied 1-1 both times, but Scott responded with a strikeout to end the fifth inning, as did Reed Garrett to end the seventh.

Game MVP: Christian Scott

It’s hard to imagine that Scott won’t be staying in the Mets’ rotation after he mostly dominated the Rays over 6.2 innings, showing major-league poise to go with his electric stuff.

The only issue will be innings limits. Scott has yet to throw as many as 100 innings in a season, and the Mets likely will want to keep him under 150 this season. But he represents a major upgrade for the starting rotation, likely replacing Adrian Houser.

Here are the takeaways...

Game MVP: Christian Scott

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