The Mets finally lost... now what?

New York's bullpen falters in a 5-3 loss in Texas. Plus, how will the team respond now that their winning streak is over?

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets seven-game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday night, falling to the Rangers by a 5-3 score (box)

• LHP Sean Manaea had a no-hitter into the sixth inning but unable to hold onto the lead, allowing three runs over 5.2 innings pitched

• RHP Drew Smith allowed the go-ahead two-run home run with two outs in the 8th inning

• 1B Pete Alonso clubbed his 16th home run of the season in the loss

• New York is now 7-1 since Grimace threw out the first pitch, 11-5 in the month of June, and 13-5 over their last 18 games

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• 3B Brett Baty (Triple-A): 1-for-4, HR (4) 2 RBI, BB

• SS Luisangel Acuña (No. 5 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, SB (24), run scored

• RHP Mike Vasil (No. 11 prospect, Triple-A): 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓

The Mets are off on Thursday and will return to action against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday night.

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What comes after? ✍️

At one point or another, all winning streaks must come to an end. For the Mets, their raging hot streak ended at seven consecutive wins, finally falling to the Rangers by a 5-3 score on Wednesday night.

For a team and a fan base that was so down in the dumps for a vast majority of this early season, the last week or so has provided some of the highest highs and most entertaining vibes we’ve seen in the last two years. We’ve had a players only meeting, the rise of the “Gay Mets,” Grimace mania and, of course, a mariachi band belting out an unforgettable cover of “Higher” by Creed.

But now that the winning streak has ended and the fun – at least for now – is over, we have to ask ourselves the biggest question of all…

What comes next?

Believe it or not, the Mets have found themselves in a position to contend for a playoff spot after their recent hot play. Despite being 11 games under .500 just a couple weeks ago, the mediocrity of the National League allowed New York to remain in striking distance and their seven-game winning streak made up quite a lot of ground. And even though they remain four games under the .500 mark today, the Mets are just one game out of the second and third Wild Card spots.

Winning streaks in baseball are not everything, however. Any team, even the worst of the worst, can get hot for a week or two. After all, even the worst teams in the history of the sport have won at least 40 games (at least in the modern era). What really determines the fate of a baseball team is how do they respond to a long winning streak coming to an end?

I don’t have enough fingers to count the amount of times I’ve seen the Mets, or any other teams that I root for, answer a long winning streak by giving most of it back with a losing skid. This roster has worked incredibly hard and fought to put themselves in a position to play meaningful games this summer, and to undo all of that progress so immediately with a losing streak would not only bad in a mathematical sense, but could act as a major blow to the confidence that has been restored over the last three weeks.

Losing games is going to happen, and no one should be reacting in an overly dramatic way to a singular loss that ends a long winning streak – yeah, I’m looking at you, WFAN. That being said, the Mets have to do everything in their power to maintain the momentum that they’ve built and leave last night behind as just one loss that comes over the course of any baseball season.

Right now, this team needs to remain focused and ready to continue to fight their way back to the .500 mark and up the standings in the National League. One loss is not enough to derail those efforts, but any sort of losing streak beyond that could be.

What happens next will not only be interesting, but crucial to the future of whatever season the Mets are going to have the rest of the way.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Orioles outlasted the Yankees in extra innings thanks to Cedric Mullens’ who drove in the go-ahead run and scored an insurance run in the 10th inning after a stolen base and a throwing error

• Astros RHP Hunter Brown delivered his 6th straight quality start as Houston defeated the White Sox, 4-1

• The Padres snapped their nine-game road losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Phillies