If the Mets keep blowing leads like this, they will blow the whole season.
Friday night’s 11-9 loss to the Mariners at Citi Field featured yet another instance of the Mets’ inability to protect a lead in a month that has been chock full of them. It wasn’t just once, either, but twice in this high-scoring affair in Flushing.
The not-so-Amazin’s bullpen has blown 11 leads in seven straight games.
This is just the second time in the last 17 years that the Mets have coughed up a lead in seven consecutive contests. The last time they had a stretch like this was when they flushed a lead in eight straight games in a lost 2023 campaign.
“Bottom line, we got to start playing better,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “Especially when you get the lead, we’ve got to be able to shut those games down. And again, too much talent back there. You’re talking about 6-7 guys that have closing experience and are capable of getting the last three outs of a game… They’re going through it right now and like I’m going to keep saying, our job is to get it back on track.”
After losing their one-run lead to Cal Raleigh’s two-run homer into the second deck in left field in the third inning, the Mets’ meltdown came right on cue in the seventh inning. The two-run lead they had built in the fourth may have dwindled to one, 6-5, entering the seventh, but the Mets haven’t been able to hang on to any advantage lately, no matter the size.
Ryan Helsley, fresh off losing an eighth-inning lead in Thursday’s loss to the Braves, only faced three batters as the Mariners whacked two doubles to tie the game at 6-6.
The Mets ultimately limped out of the seventh inning trailing 10-6.
So why has this continued to happen?
“We have all asked that question,” Francisco Lindor said. “It’s tough to point at one thing, you know? We are all trying to win ballgames. All I can think of right now is that we’re not clicking at the same time, and the other team is outplaying us. Mendy is right, we have a lot of talent. We have a lot of good people here.
“We’re having a tough stretch, we’re not having a terrible season. Everybody has the sense of urgency to try to get out of it. Somehow, someway we’re not coming out on top at the end of the day.”
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