NEW YORK -- For a brief moment at the beginning of Game 2 of the Mets’ split doubleheader against the Cubs on Wednesday at Citi Field, an overtly pleasant sensation settled over the ballpark.
The sunset threw shadows across the outfield grass, the first notes of The Temptations’ “My Girl” boomed on the loudspeakers and the crowd swelled into an ovation to welcome back shortstop Francisco Lindor -- making his first start since being sidelined with a left calf strain on April 22. Both the blowout loss in the first game, and Lindor’s error on his first ground ball opportunity in the top of the first, were momentarily set aside.
On the very first pitch that Lindor saw in his return from injury, he got under a 91.7 mph fastball at the top of the zone from Shota Imanaga and popped a routine fly ball to right field. It was the type of oscillation between anticipation and letdown that persisted with the team over the doubleheader -- which ended with a 10-5 loss -- and its five-game losing streak.
“It’s not too late,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the 10-3 loss in Game 1, “but obviously it’s not too early. It’s where we are playing. We’re not playing well, the record is our record. It’s good that we have Lindor back now, but [we] can’t put all of it on him.”
Yes, Lindor ended his return with an 0-for-5 showing, while grounding into a fielder’s choice with the tying run on second base with two outs in the seventh inning. But it was a collective tough evening defensively that led to the Mets getting swept on Wednesday. New York amassed six errors (one by Lindor, two by Marcus Semien, one by Bo Bichette and two by Mark Vientos) in a single game for the first time since 2014.
Of the 10 runs that came across the plate for the Cubs, only five were earned.
“Embarrassing, overall, the whole day,” Mendoza said. “Two losses, but just the way we played overall. The last game, unacceptable. Everybody’s pissed, everybody’s frustrated, simple as that.”
Starter Sean Manaea labored through a scoreless first inning before allowing back-to-back doubles to lead off the second frame. Francisco Alvarez homered to bring the score level at one (his third home run of the series), before A.J. Ewing hit a two-run home run to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.
But in the fourth frame, after Nico Hoerner doubled, Carson Kelly reached after Semien bobbled a ground ball and made an errant throw that pulled Vientos off the bag. The Cubs responded with back-to-back-to-back RBI singles, the final being a push bunt by Pete Crow-Armstrong that landed over a crashing Bichette at third base. Huascar Brazobán replaced Manaea, striking out three straight Cubs with a runner in scoring position.
“It wasn’t good -- three [plus] innings is inexcusable,” Manaea said postgame, quick to take accountability. “I put so much pressure on the bullpen to come in, and Huascar did an unbelievable job. I just set the team up for failure pretty much, and I take full blame for that.”
In the eighth inning, with the Mets down 6-5, Bichette booted a ground ball off the bat of Pedro Ramírez to lead off the frame. After Ramírez swiped second during Swanson’s at-bat, Crow-Armstrong laced a ground ball that forced Vientos to dive to his right. He came up with the grounder and tossed it to reliever A.J. Minter, who was racing to cover the bag. Minter took his eye off the ball and missed the toss, allowing Ramírez to score and Crow-Armstrong to reach second.
This was the second instance in franchise history of all four Mets infield positions making an error in the same game, the first coming on Sept. 8, 1962, against Houston.
The toll of each error -- which coincided with an 0-for-6 team effort with runners in scoring position in Game 2 -- was palpable. The brackish mix of boos from the home crowd and euphoric cheers from visiting Cubs fans became louder with every bobbled ball. There was almost a shared look of shock on the infielders’ faces after Vientos’ error in the ninth, which preceded another pair of back-to-back run-scoring singles from Ramírez and Swanson -- as if they themselves couldn’t believe what was happening.
“It’s hard to explain,” Mendoza said. “Some routine plays … I mean, it’s hard to describe at this point.”
An endemic, mistake-filled night will leave you searching for answers. Lindor pointed to the fact that he should have attacked his first grounder more, calling his error “unacceptable.” Semien placed the blame for his errors on rushing to recover with his throws and needing a little more “attention to detail.” And for the team that’s dropped to 12 games under .500, that search also causes you to wonder how the Mets can right the ship, especially with the All-Star break looming.
“We have to pick it up,” Lindor said. “It’s a tough position, but we got to pick it up. We have the personnel here to pick up. We got to get it done.”