PHILADELPHIA — The Mets‘ season is practically on life support.
It’s tough to tell if their biggest rival is actually the Philadelphia Phillies or themselves.
“I don’t know how many times we get into streaks like this, where nothing seems to be working for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But again, you have to stay positive.”
After an 11-3 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, the Mets’ fifth straight, it’s getting tougher and tougher to stay positive.
This loss went like so many of the Mets’ losses have gone since June, when their starting rotation fell apart. Clay Holmes gave up two early runs, the Mets made it close with a run off left-hander Christopher Sanchez in the top of fourth, but Holmes couldn’t keep it close, giving up two more in the bottom of the fifth to end his outing early.
The bats then went quiet.
This has been the pattern since the middle of June. It’s a frustrating one, no doubt, but it’s one the Mets (76-70) haven’t been able to figure out how to halt.
“We haven’t been consistent,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “It’s just one of those years that things haven’t clicked for a long time. It’s baseball, you have ups and downs, and those are guarantees. You try to limit the downs, and you try to ride the high as long as you can. For some reason, it’s been a very wavy season.”
The Mets inability to sustain a winning streak since July has them in third place in the NL Wild Card standings, only two games ahead of the San Francisco Giants. This pattern has left them in a vulnerable position. The Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks are also within striking distance. The Phillies (86-60) have put 10 games between them and the Mets in the NL East.
“We’re still in a position where we can make the year look completely different,” Lindor said. “Everyone here it’s pushing towards that, fighting to try to get in that wave and just ride as long as we can. Basically, it’s a game of momentum, and we haven’t been able to capitalize on the times that we’ve had the momentum.”
Sanchez pitched tough, holding the Mets to one run over six innings. The Mets managed only four hits and one walk, while striking out six times. Juan Soto hit his 39th home run of the season off left-hander Jose Alvarado in the top of the eighth, but by then the game had long been lost.
Holmes gave up a run in the first inning before even getting an out. After loading the bases twice, he minimized the damage by getting out of the inning with only two runs allowed, but his pitch count took a hit. Still, he managed to get out of trouble in the second inning, then settled into the game.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, the right-hander gave up a single and a double to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead, and was then lifted with one on and none out. Left-hander Gregory Soto couldn’t hold the inherited runner on base, giving up an RBI single to the first batter he faced.
Starting pitching sets the tone, and the Mets often aren’t able to overcome the early leads.
“I think some guys from the rotation are having a tough stretch here,” Mendoza said. “When you’re playing a lot of games on the road and you’re not getting decent length or decent outings, it has a trickle-down effect on the pitching staff, on the at-bats — the game is obviously different…
“You’re not going to be as aggressive,” Mendoza said. “You take a strike and you’ve got to take pitches. You’ve got to create a rally instead of staying aggressive. It’s a completely different game.”
The Mets tried to use Gregory Soto for an extended appearance in an effort to make up for the innings Holmes couldn’t cover. But with a flat fastball, that plan didn’t work. Down 4-1, Soto imploded in the sixth, giving up three hits and hitting two batters. Philadelphia scored four times to go up 8-1, and it was over from there.
Like Mendoza said, it was one of those games where nothing seemed to work for the Mets.
Holmes was charged with four earned runs on six hits, walking three, hitting two and striking out five. He made it through only four innings, and has pitched six or more only once since June.
“As a starting pitcher down the stretch here, you’ve got to be good, and you’ve got to get better as the game goes on,” Holmes said. “It just comes down to execution.”
If the Mets don’t execute soon, they’ll be out of action come October.
“People want to figure this out and really play our best baseball,” Holmes said. “I think there’s a belief that we will, but things have got to turn. We’ve got to start taking it one game at a time and playing a little bit better here. We know what’s ahead of us, and I think we’re doing all we can to show up the next day and put everything we have into this.”
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