The prototypical June swoon is hitting the Mets extra hard this season.
New York lost another series on Sunday, dropping the rubber game of their set in Pittsburgh thanks to a timid offense that couldn’t touch Pirates starter, Mitch Keller.
They’ve now lost eight of their last nine games, dropping to 31-35 on the season. Sunday’s loss also guaranteed an 11th series loss this season.
They lost 11 series all season last year in their 101-win campaign.
Needless to say — and it’s not a particularly harsh assessment in doing so — the 2023 Mets are a shell of last season’s squad. And with less than 100 games to go, the “concern” is clearly there.
“The concern has been there,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said (h/t SNY). “It didn’t start today. We understand we have a job day in and day out and that’s winning ballgames. As a team, [manager Buck Showalter] talked to us and we just have to continue to fight and stop worrying about what’s going to happen. We have to have a sense of urgency — we have a sense of urgency.”
Showalter held a team meeting following Friday’s 14-7 loss to the Pirates — the Mets’ seventh consecutive defeat. It appeared as though it helped stop the bleeding when they ended the skid and won 5-1 on Saturday. But Sunday’s result coupled with an upcoming two-game set against the crosstown-rival Yankees on Tuesday and Wednesday at Citi Field disintegrated any slight momentum made.
“Guys take a day [for Monday’s day off] and hopefully take a breath and get after another good club,” Showalter said. “We’re not playing like we think we’re capable of. You always have that concern regardless of what time of year it is. I don’t get into how many games are left and all that other stuff. You want to be operating on all cylinders. We know that’s a real challenge, but we’ll strive to get there.”
