The Mets were bailed out by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, as their wins over the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks allowed New York to keep its slim one-game lead for the last NL Wild Card spot despite a 10-3 howler of a loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Starting pitcher Jonah Tong, thrown into a nearly impossible situation for a 22-year-old, allowed five runs on seven hits while lasting just two innings. Coming just one night after David Peterson was knocked out after 1.1 frames, the Mets’ bullpen was cut to bare bones, and it forced manager Carlos Mendoza to empty the pitching tank.
Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes, who were scheduled for bullpen days on Wednesday before their piggyback game on Saturday, had to go an inning each.
Both veteran arms previously pitched on Sunday, and they likely will have to go again on Saturday because Mendoza is out of options. After Nolan McLean, who has bailed the Mets out time and time again since his debut in August, Brandon Sproat will get the ball for Friday’s opening game of New York’s regular-season series finale after he was touched up for four runs on Sept. 19 against the Washington Nationals.
Following him, everything is up in the air.
Saturday is going to be a big ask for Holmes and Manaea, who would be going on short rest. Holmes, in his first year as a starter, has pitched nearly 90 innings over his previous career high. Manaea has struggled mightily to the tune of a 5.80 ERA since starting his 2025 season late due to an oblique injury.
Sunday’s regular-season finale is supposed to be Peterson’s game, but the veteran southpaw has joined the rest of the veteran arms in their calamitous ways, posting an 8.42 ERA over his last nine starts. It’s been so bad that Mendoza admitted that his role is currently up in the air, though he doesn’t have many other options to lean on.
“We’ll continue to find ways to get 27 outs and get the wins that we need here,” Mendoza said. “It’s not easy, especially with what’s happened the past couple days, but we’ll get together here and piece it together.”
