Thursday saw a brutal loss by the Mets that capped off a brutal series.
Already in the midst of a five-game losing streak and dropping the first three games of their series to the Phillies, the Mets blew an early 4-0 lead and were ultimately swept by their division rivals. After putting up four first-inning runs on Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo, the southpaw shut down the offense over the next seven innings. Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth to lock down the 6-4 win with Phillies pitchers retiring 25 straight batters.
"Whether you’re up four, down four, at the end of the day, you didn’t get the job done," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the loss. "Frustrating, but nothing we can do about it now. We have to get back at it tomorrow, go back home and win some baseball games."
The Mets (76-71) are now losers of six straight games and hold a slim 1.5-game lead over the idle Giants and Reds for the final wild card spot. It wasn't too long ago that the Mets' spot in the postseason was inevitable, but going 5-10 over their last 15 games has hurt their chances of holding on.
When Mendoza was asked if he's worried about their wild card spot, the second-year skipper said he's not, but acknowledged there aren't a lot of games remaining.
"Teams are right behind us," he said. "The way you look at it is, we’re still in control of the situation, we’re still in control of the ultimate goal. We just have to go out and do it."
"Gotta play better. Simple as that," David Peterson said after his start on Thursday. "We’ve seen what this group can do. We got 15 [games] left, we have to take care of business. Past is the past, and we have to let it go and play better. It's as simple as that."
Peterson was solid, giving the Mets five innings while allowing three runs before the bullpen — led by Reed Garrett — gave up the lead in a three-run sixth. A part of that bullpen implosion was the misplay of Jeff McNeil in center field that led to the go-ahead run. The longtime Met didn't show concern about the team's standing in the playoff picture when asked after the game because of his teammates.
"Got a bunch of great guys in here. We’ve been through a lot this year. Right now, we’re still in a playoff spot," he said. "Could be worse. We’re going to come tomorrow, tough game tomorrow, and be ready."
After a 10-game road trip, where the Mets went 3-7, the team returns home for nine games. The Mets are 45-27 at home this season, the fourth-most in the NL this year, so perhaps going back to Citi Field could cure what ails them.
Mendoza said it's "always nice to go home," but repeated that it comes down to the Mets playing better and winning games. When asked how the Mets can "reset," he put the inenviable task on himself.
"I’m responsible. I’m the manager, it’s my job to get these guys going and I will," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself, my coaches and the players. It’s not easy right now. We are all frustrated, but we still got an opportunity here to achieve our goal."
He later added, "As bad as it looks right now, as bad as it’s been, we’re still in control. But we got to play better, that’s the bottom line."
Carlos Mendoza was asked if there's anything he could do to reset the Mets:
"I'm responsible. I'm the manager. It's my job to get these guys going and I will" pic.twitter.com/uk8XGuKTPD
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 12, 2025
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