The Mets spiral won't end!
Nolan McLean delivered five perfect innings before the wheels fell off...again.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost their 12th straight game, a heartbreaker to the Twins, 5-3 (box)
RHP Nolan McLean delivered five perfect innings for the second time this year, but gave all three runs back in the sixth and seventh innings
SS Francisco Lindor delivered the Mets’ only runs of the game with a three-run homer in the third
With the game tied 3-3 in the ninth inning, RHP Devin Williams imploded in his third straight appearance, surrendering two runs on three walks and a single
RHP Austin Warren came in and collected three strikeouts with the bases loaded to keep the game within striking distance
After successfully attacking Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson, the Mets’ offense went ice cold against Minnesota’s bullpen, tallying 14 consecutive outs over the final few frames
The Mets will recall RHP Christian Scott from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of Thursday’s game - LHP David Peterson will remain in the bullpen and not return to the starting rotation right now
Injury Updates 🩺
LF Juan Soto (right calf strain) has been through his full rehab progression and will be activated on Wednesday, but the team will take extra precautions upon his return to play
LHP AJ Minter (recovery from lat surgery) is on target for a May 9 return
Play of the Game 🥲
After Mets closer Devin Williams loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth inning, Luke Keaschall dribbled an RBI single past both Bo Bichette and Francisco Lindor to give the Twins the lead, which put the nail in the coffin for the Mets for the 12th straight game.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
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Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Jonah Tong (No. 2 prospect, Triple-A): 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K
SS Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 3 R, 5 RBI, 3 HR, 1 BB, 1 K
1B Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR, 2 K, 1 SB
CF Nick Morabito (No. 12 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
SS Marco Vargas (No. 20 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 SB
RHP Channing Austin (High-A): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (7-15) vs Twins (11-11)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Clay Holmes (2-2, 1.96 ERA) vs. TBD
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Oh, the mEtS! ✍️
What’s even left to say?
The Mets have lost 12 consecutive games. Twelve. A dozen. In a row.
In a game that they managed to take emphatic control of early on, the Mets’ offense once again put up a measly scoring effort behind another strong start from Nolan McLean. Even I, the resident toxic optimist, am having trouble finding any remaining straws of hope to grasp at.
Spring training results don’t matter, eh? The same issues that presented themselves in Grapefruit League games have been present throughout the regular season so far. On March 15th, the Mets’ offense ranked among the league’s bottom-25 units in most key offensive categories with two weeks remaining in camp. As of April 22nd, that remains the same: there has been almost zero power or run production from this lineup, no matter who slots in or what order they hit in. They’re getting on base less than any other team in the league, their .624 team OPS is worst in baseball, and they’ve scored fewer runs than any other unit in the league. No hyperbole necessary, this is literally as bad as it gets.
Beyond the team’s offense ranking as poorly as it has for as long as it has, there aren’t many signs of imminent improvement on the horizon. Mark Vientos forgot how to hit again; despite some surprisingly decent defense, Bo Bichette’s bat has been awful (despite leading the team in RBI), and Brett Baty has been bad on both sides of the ball. Even where there are some glimmers of progress in recent games — Marcus Semien was hitting .318 with a .375 OBP over the seven games preceding yesterday’s contest, hence the shot at leadoff duties — there still remains to be seen any shred of fight when it matters most. When faced with a tie game or losing situation in the closing innings, this team’s early-season MO has been to simply lie down and die by way of completely uncompetitive at-bats.
The big blast from Francisco Lindor in the third inning was a rare show of power from a lineup that’s seemed to be allergic to hitting for pop (team .111 ISO, worst in baseball), which made it the perfect opportunity to take the game by the reins and run away with it, especially with three perfect innings from Nolan McLean already in the books. Instead, the offense responded with a single from Carson Benge and two walks scattered across the next few frames before the Twins bullpen retired the final 14 Mets hitters to come to the plate.
Putrid doesn’t suffice.
As far as McLean, he was excellent, as he has been for virtually the entirety of his young career. The budding ace was perfect through five innings for the second time this season, which makes him the first pitcher since at least 1961 to have multiple perfect 5+ inning bids through their first 13 starts. Last night’s start also inked his name into a particularly specific corner of the Mets’ history books:
McLean’s stuff was dominant yet again, yielding a 30% whiff rate and 26% chase rate over the course of the evening. Though his stuff started getting batted around more as the night went on (resulting in three earned runs and a tied ballgame upon his departure), he was locating effectively throughout, getting outs on pitches in the zone and generating strikeouts outside while issuing zero walks. Like his last start, it was a display of how effective he can be when everything’s working the way he wants. His changeup was working especially well, eliciting a 44% whiff rate, but McLean looked generally in control of his pitch mix throughout the night, even as the batted balls started to pile up.
Some concerns remain about McLean’s sequencing habits as he gets later into games (which he himself alluded to in his postgame comments)… but that’s hardly the biggest problem facing this team right now. He’ll figure that out — he’s not even 14 starts into his big league career. My far greater pitching concern lies in the arm of Devin Williams.
Even after his early struggles in the Bronx, Williams settled down in the back half of the 2025 season, and all of the nerd data suggested his hiccups were momentary. Instead, a clear mental block has been revealed, one that throws yet another wrench into an ever-evolving bullpen picture. Williams may totally be experiencing his own ‘2019 Edwin Díaz’ moment; the raw stuff is certainly still there for him to be effective at the back of this bullpen, as it was on display mere weeks ago. But struggling so profoundly in the spotlight in the midst of an all-time bad stretch of baseball is surely doing nothing for his own confidence, and somehow even less for the confidence of the fanbase.
What specifically comes next remains to be seen, but the entire world knows the only fix at this point is to win. We can debate all the call-up decisions and lineup arrangements and bench/bullpen moves that have been made over this atrocious span of baseball, but at the end of the day, runs just need to be scored and games just need to be won.
Call me crazy, but I remain unconvinced that firing Carlos Mendoza this early is the right move. I’m having a hard time squaring the logic that getting rid of a manager who everyone on the team vocally supports is going to yield immediate positive results, even in the face of a historic losing streak. Sure, the stench of the Great Collapse of 2025 still hangs heavy in the air…but there’s also an entirely new coaching staff in place, half the roster are still relative strangers, and multiple key bats are on the shelf (yes, Jared Young was a key bat when he went down), with a significant portion of the healthy roster significantly underperforming to a degree no one anticipated. The need for change is clear and understandable, but given the way the offseason went, introducing even more personnel disruption to a clubhouse that’s already been so shaken up doesn’t seem like the most functional way to cultivate the stability that literally everybody is so desperate for.
My guess is that if a firing does happen, it’ll be at the end of the season, unless this slide persists considerably into May; if things get bad enough, I wouldn’t be surprised to see both Mendoza and David Stearns depart this winter. No matter what happens, the players on the field need to play better baseball; it’s really not any more complicated than that, and they’ve said as much themselves. The only fix is to win.
At least Juan Soto’s back in the lineup beginning tonight, albeit in a slightly limited capacity. Before getting sidelined, Soto was one of the team’s steadiest hitters, posting a .355 average and a .928 OPS in his first 31 ABs of the season. Perhaps his injury helped him avoid the skunky stink that’s swallowed up this roster. Hopefully, he proves to be a breath of untainted air that steadily refreshes the energy of this group, but it’s going to take more than just him to correct course.
I suppose if I had to identify any discernible silver lining, it would be that we’re still in April. Undoubtedly, things are bleaker than they’ve been in a very long time — you’ve likely already been reminded several times over that no team to lose 12 games in a row has ever gone on to make the playoffs that year. Heard loud and clear; the fact remains that there are 139 games left to play, and this is a team still not yet at full strength. The 2024 team was 22-33 before their season turned around; that was on May 29th. Despite what baseball history says, there still exists a window for this team, however thinly it may be cracked.
Obviously, this group is not 2024’s; it’s possible we’re just dealing with a bad team that isn’t going to gel. I don’t believe it’s that simple, but it’s absolutely possible.
At this point, there’s only one certainty, and it’s already been made plain: they have to win.
Around the League 🚩
Munetaka Murakami homered again, marking four straight games with a home run; his nine homers are the most by any Japanese player through their first 23 games (MLB.com)
Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 53 games, tying the Dodger record set by Shawn Green 26 years ago (MLB.com)
Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga held the Phillies to one run over seven three-hit innings while tossing a single strikeout
Giancarlo Stanton led the Yankees with a homer, a double, and three RBI as shutout the Red Sox at Fenway, 4-0
Elly De La Cruz hit two homers and drove in five runs as the Reds toppled the Rays, 12-6
The Mets would have to go 80-60 to be in the mix at the end of the season. I don’t see that happening. A total tear down should happen and maybe that’s what Stearns had in mind the whole time? It’s time to send Baty down the farm with the possibility he never comes back and will part of a trade. Vientos at this point I DFA him. Let someone else have faith he can get back to ‘24 Swaggy V. Bring up Clifford the big red dog and Mauricio and play them daily. Benge needs to go back down to figure out his swing. He changed it over the summer and it clearly doesn’t work at the big league level. Semien doesn’t deserve daily play time. Leadoff??? wtf is Mendy doing? McLean is the new deGrom. Perfect for 5. Yes, gave up the 2 run shot. I was actually shocked Brazoban didn’t allows the guy at third to score and tie it up as his penchant for allowing inherited runners to score is almost automatic. This team is just not good. Stearns deserves the blame for it. I don’t think he will get fired though. It’s why he kept Mendy around and got rid of everyone else. He has a scapegoat in Mendy. I like Mendy. I really do. He seems like the nicest guy who loves his family. Supposedly, he has his sons at the field as much as he can but being a nice guy isn’t what counts in a results based business. He just has to go and Stearns needs to get on the phone and start making moves. There is plenty that other teams would covet and get back some real good prospects. Reset and push for 2028. Soto needs to be on board with it as his walks are going to be insane during it. This team hasn’t done a serous reset since the late 90’s. You gotta see what you got in the minors as there is talent down there for the first time in a very long time. The fans I think would accept it too as kids growing and making mistakes is better than watching this.
Good grief.