CHICAGO -- Frustration is growing. Brett Baty wore those feelings in the postgame interview. Manager Carlos Mendoza reiterated that his club has to execute better. The rest of the clubhouse was silent as they packed up to leave.
This was not the way this Mets season was supposed to begin.
There are a plethora of reasons New York is in the midst of a nine-game losing streak following a 12-4 loss to the Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field -- with Juan Soto’s injury and a myriad of offensive slumps at the top of that list. Kodai Senga’s second straight start of six earned runs or more allowed didn’t help, either.
The result? The Mets’ longest skid since losing 11 straight from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004.
It’s a position the club with one of the highest payrolls in baseball history didn’t expect to be in, let alone in mid-April. The pressure is mounting despite the Mets (7-13) being just 20 games into a 162-game marathon.
The most pressing issue is the offense, which entered Friday with a .175/.213/.257 slash line during the losing streak, before breaking out for 14 hits in the opener with a new-look top of the order. However, despite a three-run second inning that matched the run total the club had scored in the previous 39 innings, the Mets managed just a single run the rest of the way while giving up a season-high 12 runs.
“We haven’t hit. And when you don’t hit, you can look stagnant,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “I don’t think we’re stagnant. I think we’re playing hard. I think our guys are preparing. But I also understand, even from my seat, when you don’t hit, when there’s not a lot of action on the bases, when you can’t get the double with runners on base, it can feel stagnant. And I recognize that.”
Defensively, Baty misplayed two balls in the fourth inning, one of which was an error that allowed a run to score. In the seventh, first baseman Mark Vientos missed a swipe tag after getting pulled off the bag on an errant throw from Marcus Semien, but despite Carson Kelly missing first base running up the line, Vientos never turned around and Kelly scrambled eight or so feet back to touch first base without a play.
“When you’re going through stretches like this, you see that,” Mendoza said of things not going right. “It’s the offense at times, then you get good starting pitching and you don’t score a run. Then today I thought the bats were a lot better. … We’ve got to be able to put a consistent game here where we’re clicking at our best. Starts, playing defense, offensively -- that’s got to start.”
It’s still early, sure, but that doesn’t make Friday’s performance or the eight before it any less concerning. The club is full of veteran leaders who have been through similar stretches, and there’s no reason to believe Francisco Lindor (.610 OPS), Bo Bichette (.565), Jorge Polanco (.532) and Semien (.565) will continue to struggle at the plate.
But it was enough for Stearns to hold a rare pregame press conference on the road trip to discuss the club’s current stretch, repeating his belief that the team he helped transform will turn it around.
“No one likes to lose. Losing is not fun. I also don’t get the sense that anyone’s head is spinning here,” Stearns said. “I think guys are coming to the ballpark, getting their work in and expecting to win.
“The majority of that roster has gone through ups and downs over the course of the season, and has withstood tremendous pressure at various points in their careers. So I think players are frustrated.”
That much was evident Friday, but so was the simple fact that if the start-studded roster starts playing to its potential, there is more than enough time to turn this around. That’s why Stearns believes an April losing streak won’t define this team.
“We’ve got a group that cares tremendously, is working hard and also, in many cases, has the experience to understand where we are on the calendar,” Stearns said. “And that if we keep doing the right thing on a daily basis, we will get to where we want to go.
“We’re facing adversity right now, certainly at an earlier stage than any of us expected or wanted, but this has an opportunity to be part of our story, help us find our identity, come through this and understand we have the ability to do that.”