Another Costly Loss. Why do the Mets Keep Doing This to Themselves?

MIAMI – Inconsistency. Sloppy plays. Mental mistakes. 

That’s the story of the Mets’ season. So why would things change in their final series of the year? 

Having just won the series in Chicago, taking two out of three against the Cubs by playing with urgency and cashing in on opportunities, the Mets flew to Miami with their magic number at three to qualify for the playoffs. With everything to play for, that urgency evaporated after just a few innings against the Marlins. They jumped ahead to an early lead, then their pitching deteriorated, and defensive miscues rocked the boat. 

The Mets looked unstoppable one moment, and completely checked out the next in their 6-2 loss against the Marlins on Friday night. Once again, the ship is in dangerous territory of capsizing. 

“As a squad, we have to stay hungry,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “And do whatever we can and lock in.”

Roughly 1,500 miles northwest of LoanDepot Park, the Reds defeated the Brewers, 3-1. The Mets began the weekend with a one-game lead over Cincinnati for the final National League wild card spot. By the time they walked out of the stadium Friday night, they were no longer in control of their destiny — again. The Reds, who own the tiebreaker over the Mets, effectively have a one-game advantage over the Amazins with two games left to play. 

So it goes. 

“We got to win the next two games and see what happens,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But we did it to ourselves.”

All season, we’ve seen New York commit errors — both physically and mentally. You wouldn’t expect those to show up in Miami, if only because the Mets can’t afford to make mistakes with such little margin for error. But the Mets can’t help themselves. Another self-destructive spiral made an appearance in the fifth inning of their loss. This time it was the Marlins, who have nothing left to play for, that took advantage of the Mets’ gaffes.

Miami erased the Amazins’ lead after three straight hits to open the fifth inning against rookie starter Brandon Sproat. On the second of those hits, Alonso was unable to make a diving play at first, and the ball glanced off his glove and into right field. A few batters later, right-handed reliever Gregory Soto entered the game with one out and the Mets trailing, 3-2, and he fully ignored the runner, Agustín Ramírez, at first base. Ramirez, taking the hint, stole second and third base without a throw each time. In Soto’s defense, he at least attempted to catch Edwards stealing third, but third baseman Ronny Mauricio was caught napping, and he didn’t cover the bag. 

Right away, the next batter, Xavier Edwards, lined an RBI single to center, scoring the run that the Mets handed to the Marlins. The Mets failed to play heads-up baseball and it cost them. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Then, pinch-hitter Connor Norby parked a two-run home run to left, sparking a six-run rally for the Marlins that became too steep for the deflated Mets to overcome. 

“We’re continuing to make the same mistakes,” Mendoza said. “And it’s costing us games.”

There were flashes of the Mets playing at their best, none more revealing than in the first inning against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara. Francisco Lindor, the team’s spark plug, led off the top of the first inning with a loud home run to right field for a 1-0 lead. It was the shortstop’s 11th leadoff homer of the year, and it was a statement.

The Marlins pushed Alcantara’s start back one day, lining it up so that the right-hander could start against the Mets. Miami will continue applying pressure on their division rivals, sending their three best starters to the mound this series, and giving the team its best chance of wrecking the Mets’ playoff hopes. Following Alcantara, right-handers Eury Perez and Edward Cabrera will take the hill. 

Playing spoiler is all the Marlins have left to do on their schedule. They are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention following Thursday’s loss to the Phillies. 

So, getting ahead of Alcantara was at the top of the priority list for the Mets. Following Lindor’s 31st home run of the year, Juan Soto lined a single to right field and promptly stole second base, putting himself into scoring position. Alonso did the rest, cranking his team-leading 40th double to left field and scoring Soto for a 2-0 lead over Alcantara and the Marlins.

Missing from the execution of their game plan was putting up a crooked number on the opposing pitcher. The crooked number came when they stranded their own men on base. New York went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the series opener.

Though the Mets did well to get to Alcantara in the first inning, they wasted chances in the second and third when it was clear that the Marlins ace was still struggling with his command. Even as Soto stole his 38th base of the season and advanced to third in the third inning, Alonso and Jeff McNeil struck out, failing to bring the run home. That sequence was all the confidence Alcantara and the Marlins needed to enter cruise control. The 2022 N.L. Cy Young winner retired 12 of his next 13 batters as the Mets, having wasted their early opportunity against him, went down without a fight.

“Sandy’s an ace,” Alonso said. “He did what aces do. He buckled down and made adjustments. I thought we had great at-bats, but it’s unfortunate.”

Unfortunate? Try unacceptable. But hey, they’re not there yet. If the Mets miss the playoffs this way — and if the season ended on Friday, they would be disqualified — they’ll be using a word more descriptive than “unfortunate” to encapsulate this catastrophic downfall. 

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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