The Mets’ season essentially ended with their crowning as Subway Series champions for 2021.
Since winning two of three against the Yankees this month (to finish 4-2 against their crosstown rivals), the Mets have fallen into oblivion. There were four straight losses against the Cardinals that, realistically, ended their postseason chances, followed by two losses in three games against the Phillies. Then came a winless five-game swing through Boston and Milwaukee. All told, it’s a 1-10 stretch as they head into their final home series of the season, beginning with Tuesday’s doubleheader against Miami.
“It’s just everything not working right for us,” manager Luis Rojas said. “We can hit every single area, and it hasn’t been right … just a lot of inconsistency offensively, defensively, pitching-wise; our overall game has been trending down. We have faced good teams, yes, but committing three errors has been typical in a lot of our games lately.”
It doesn’t help that the Mets (73-82) are finished playing for anything tangible. They were officially eliminated from the postseason race on Saturday and, a day later, were guaranteed a fourth losing season in five years.
But the Mets certainly won’t mind facing an inferior opponent after facing five straight teams that might qualify for the postseason. Even so, the Mets lost two of three games against these Marlins in Miami before facing the Yankees.
Rojas, whose contract expires after the season, was asked about his concern that the team’s sloppy performances lately reflect badly on the field staff.
“I can’t start thinking about how our baseball is going to look toward the end because it’s going to make [the field staff] look bad or sloppy, that’s not it,” Rojas said. “I want these guys to finish playing their best baseball. That’s what everybody here is going to take into the offseason, work on some things. I know we’re off the hunt, but everybody here has got to finish playing strong and end on a positive note.”