3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Swept By Cubs As Woes Continue
The New York Mets are making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
After being swept by the Cubs in Chicago, the Mets have now lost 11 consecutive games and are 7-15 on the season. That’s tied for the worst record in all of baseball.
Furthermore, the Mets rank last in a number of statistical categories, including the most important one: runs. They also look incompetent in almost every single department.
With no signs of hope that a turnaround may be on the horizon, it remains to be seen just how much worse things could get. And, if they do, what changes, if any, may be in the offing.
For now, though, let’s recap everything from a third straight series sweep in this week’s 3 Up, 3 Down…
Matt Marton-Imagn Images
3 UP
SPARK PLUG
MJ Melendez hasn’t stopped hitting since getting called up from Triple-A. He’s the only member of the Mets who is hitting right now. He recorded a pair of hits in the series opener before hitting a home run in the finale on Sunday. Melendez has looked good at the plate so far, and he’s proving that he can be a contributing piece for this ballclub.
OPENING UP
The Mets went with an opener for Sunday’s game, with Tobias Myers providing some much-needed stability. The righty tossed two scoreless innings, striking out two while allowing just one hit and one walk. Given what happened earlier in the series on the pitching side, Myers not putting his team in an early hole should be considered a big positive.
RIGHTING THE SHIP
Moved out of the rotation on Sunday, having struggled to start the season, few could have blamed David Peterson for being ticked. Well, if he was, he didn’t show it. The lefty pitched out of the bullpen in relief, giving the Mets 3.2 scoreless innings of relief in the finale. It was a much-needed outing for Peterson, given his recent struggles. Hopefully, he can use it as a springboard to pitch in the rotation effectively.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
3 DOWN
ALL-TIME LOW
Forget rock bottom, the Mets are digging beneath it right now. They’ve lost 11 in a row, which is tied for the seventh-longest losing streak in franchise history. Historically, not many teams have been this bad and still made the postseason. Forget all the historical context, though. The most damming aspect about this historical streak is just how fundamentally bad this team looks from top to bottom. Hitters aren’t performing to the back of their baseball cards. The starting pitching has been a mess outside of the top two arms. We’re seeing mental mistakes and routine errors every single day. We’re still in April, but it is hard to see how the Mets are going to turn this around.
EMBARRASSING
There isn’t much left to say about how bad this offense is. And nothing seems to be changing. The approach at the plate is the same, despite the lack of success and results. The Mets aren’t generating enough baserunners, and they are a non-threat on the basepaths when they do. There is no power. There is no making things happen. And the entire lineup seems incapable of adjusting on the fly. Consequently, the offense was a no-show again in Chicago, scoring a total of seven runs. The lineup also went a combined 5-for-26 with RISP. Furthermore, the Mets have now scored two runs or less in nine of their last 11 games. As a result, they rank second-worst in runs scored (72) in baseball, while owning the second-worst OBP (.288), SLG (.336), and OPS (.624).
And, while the pending return of Juan Soto will help, relying on one player to solve everything will only mean that this team really is in a whole world of trouble.
SALT IN THE WOUNDS
When you are on the kind of losing streak the Mets are, everything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong. We saw that on Sunday. Within touching distance of snapping a 10-game losing streak, Devin Williams allowed a game-tying RBI double in the ninth. The fact that it came off the bat of former Met Michael Conforto made it even worse. Then, in extra innings, Craig Kimbrel allowed the ghost runner to score to cap off what was yet another miserable weekend. That came after Brooks Raley gave up his first home run since 2023 to change the entire complexion of Saturday’s game. When it rains, it pours for the Mets right now.
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