Poor pitching, mental lapses define another loss for the Mets
Despite resuscitating themselves, the floundering Mets flopped their way to the finish line in their fourth straight loss
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost their fourth consecutive contest, falling to the A’s 11-6 (box)
RHP Kodai Senga had a tough day at the office, surrendering seven runs in just 2.1 innings — his most ever
The offense put together a valiant comeback effort, climbing back from a 7-1 hole to trailing by one run heading into the 8th
Bo Bichette hit his first home run as a Met, and continued his recent hot streak with a two-hit, three-RBI day
Jorge Polanco also hit his first Mets homer
Francisco Álvarez hit his fourth homer of the year on a wallscraper that bounced in and out of Denzel Clarke’s glove
Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, and Craig Kimbrel (making his season debut) combined for 4.2 scoreless outings to keep the game close, until…
Luke Weaver had his second-straight bad outing, surrendering four runs on three hits and a homer in his lone inning of work
Mets hitters are batting just .200 in the 8th and 9th innings to open the 2026 season
Play of the Game 🙃
As much as I’d love to dedicate this section to Bichette and Polanco hitting their first Mets homers in clutch moments, or Kimbrel dealing two strikeouts in his season debut in a clutch moment, I can’t. And that’s all Luke Weaver’s fault.
Before these last couple of outings, Weaver had been close to perfect, allowing a single hit and two walks against three strikeouts in his first five innings of the season. He’s unraveled recently, though, allowing six runs (all earned) in his last two appearances.
After securing an inning-opening groundout, Weaver surrendered a single to Denzel Clarke. However, he immediately struck out Lawrence Butler, leaving the Mets just one out away from entering the home half of the eighth trailing by a single run with the top of the order due up.
Instead, Weaver walked Nick Kurtz, allowed Clarke to score on an RBI single from Shea Langeliers, then handed Tyler Soderstrom his second homer of the day to put the A’s ahead for good.
Carlos Mendoza Speaks 🗣️
After the loss, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza addressed the media and essentially discussed the following:
On Senga’s struggles: “He didn’t have much. It starts with fastball command, and he just didn’t have it today….He didn’t have a feel for his pitches.”
On Weaver: “He’s getting behind hitters; it looks like that cutter backed up, and good hitters are going to make him pay.”
On Lindor’s recent mental lapses: “It’s weird because that’s not him. It’s hard to explain, and he’ll tell you that he’s gotta be better. But yeah, never seen that — some of those plays where he’s out of position.”
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
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Who’s Hot? 🥵
Luis Robert Jr. is hitting .360/.484/.480 with a homer, six walks, and two steals in his last seven games
Bo Bichette is hitting .321/.406/.429 with four RBI and four walks in his last seven games; his 9 RBI this season currently lead the Mets
Francisco Álvarez is hitting .333 with three homers, three walks, and three RBI in his last seven games
Who’s Cold? 🥶
Mark Vientos has gone freezing cold, standing hitless in his last 15 at-bats with five strikeouts, no walks, and a single RBI
Down on the Farm 🌾
RF Eli Serrano III (No. 13 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K
3B Jacob Reimer (No. 5 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
C Chris Suero (No. 15 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
1B JT Schwartz (No. 15 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB
CF A.J. Ewing (No. 3 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 SB
SS Mitch Voit (No. 7 prospect, High-A): 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K
2B/3B/LF Sam Robertson (Single-A): 3-for-6, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL (Gm 1) / (Gm 2) | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (7-8) vs. Athletics (7-7)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Freddy Peralta (1-0, 4.80 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Civale (1-0, 2.70 ERA)
When: 1:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
There’s always something with this team! ✍️
Another day, another loss.
Just as quickly as the Mets’ recent win streak burst onto the scene, it ran out the door. The Mets, hot-and-cold as ever, lost their fourth game in a row, dropping two consecutive series heading into their impending road trip to Chavez Ravine. Though the Mets offense mounted a legitimate comeback to pull within a run after going down 7–2 in the third inning, all efforts ultimately proved fruitless as the bats wilted in the moments that mattered most.
There were highlights worthy of celebration, and they deserve their due shine, but their luster is inherently dimmed by yet another incredibly frustrating, unnecessary loss. Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco hit their first Mets homers, both slapped into the right field corner. Francisco Alvarez also got in on the homer party (albeit with some help from Denzel Clarke), and both Luis Robert Jr. and Carson Benge got on base and came around to score. Despite striking out 10 times (including five K’s between the 7th and 9th innings) on another unproductive RISP day, the Mets offense largely came to play when it mattered most, nearly digging themselves out of an early six-run hole dug by one pitcher before another ultimately buried them even deeper.
Kodai Senga had arguably his worst outing in a Mets uniform, and maybe his worst professional outing ever (feel free to fact-check me on this). In just over two innings, he allowed seven runs on eight hits, including two homers. He allowed a hit on all but one of his shapes, and his location was an issue all night: Senga ended up throwing just 55% of his 72 pitches for strikes. And the pitches he did throw in the zone got hit around frequently.
Senga’s fastball and sweeper were both supremely hittable yesterday, and looking at the pitch chart, it’s easy to see why: he was leaving recognizable pitches in a hot part of the zone.
As Carlos Mendoza said in his post-game presser, the core of Senga’s game lies in the fastball — if that’s not working, the rest of his arsenal probably isn’t going to look great that day either. If Senga’s fastball isn't getting whiffs, either because he’s not placing it effectively or because hitters are just seeing it well out of his hand, that immediately limits the effectiveness of the rest of his mix. His fastball has a very straight shape, so if he’s only locating it for strikes about 50% of the time, it’s much easier for hitters to sit and wait for something else in the zone. When he’s having trouble locating both his fastball and forkball, anything else that’s left in the zone just looks that much more hittable.
Hopefully, this proves to have been an off day that Senga can shake off fairly easily, but given his history of sensitivity around his mechanics and process, it’ll be interesting to see how he responds to one of the worst performances of his career. Will we see the flamethrowing, super-confident Senga that entered camp this spring, or will he retreat into himself and start tweaking again?
For the sake of the rotation’s season-long health and functionality, it needs to be the former.
Luke Weaver’s recent issues have been disappointing, but I’m less concerned about him than Senga. In yesterday’s outing, Weaver gave up one more hit on the same amount of batted ball activity as his prior appearance, in which he surrendered two runs in two hits in less than an inning of work after Nolan McLean’s latest stellar start.
Every reliever is good for several not-great appearances per season, but Weaver’s earned goodwill has all but evaporated in under two innings. The sting is arguably even worse this time around than it was on Thursday, given the circumstances: down just one run with one out left to get and the top of the order due, with a potential comeback hanging in the balance.
But all told, Weaver’s recent outings are just two of a plethora of stings inflicted upon these Mets in the last few days.
From shutouts to blown saves to out-of-character errors and slumps, there remains something unquestionably funky with this team. Perhaps it’s just a series of concurrent slumps, but the frequency of mental lapses alongside a tangibly disjointed lineup suggests that something’s lurking in the locker room that goes beyond the stench of last season.
Whether it’s new workplace awkwardness resulting from all the new faces trying to find their footing or an inability to gel thanks to a combination of injuries and an ever-shifting lineup, something’s afoot that’s throwing nearly the entire roster off its game. It’s been encouraging to see certain players emerge from early slumps or, in some cases, thrive right away in their new environment — but those successes have been largely overshadowed by the cascade of metaphorical clouds that continue to roll in and claim airspace over the season.
As of this morning, the Mets are 7-8, sitting comfortably in fourth place in the NL East. There are 147 games left to play. All is far from lost, and there’s plenty of time left on the calendar for things to turn around.
But it’s hard not to feel like something urgently needs to change.
Around the League 🚩
José Ramírez hit a solo homer in the first inning against the Braves, becoming the first Cleveland player to homer against all 29 other MLB franchises
Current Royal and former Met Michael Wacha allowed just four hits over eight scoreless innings, lowering his season ERA to a league-best 0.43
Ranger Suárez had his best start since joining the Red Sox, striking out six Cardinals over six scoreless frames in St. Louis