A pop up to shallow center Saturday night pretty well summed up the 2026 Mets.
Francisco Lindor was calling for it, but gave way at the last second to Tyrone Taylor, who in theory should have an easier read on it coming in. But the ball glanced off Taylor’s glove, he tripped a bit over Lindor before retrieving the ball, the throw home was late and three runs scored. Eli White‘s generously-scored double came with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning and extended Atlanta’s lead to 5-0. The Braves won 14-3.
“The easiest thing to say is just, I blew it, man,” Taylor said. “Can’t happen. Sean (Manaea)‘s out there working hard. Gets a pop up and I make a bad play. Make an error on it.”
New York (36-53) dropped to a season-worst 17 games below .500. The last time they were 17 below was after a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 17, 2018. Mickey Callaway was the manager, Amed Rosario hit leadoff, and rookie Jeff McNeil went 2-for-4 with a double. Noah Syndergaard took the loss. Aaron Nola struck out 11 for Philadelphia.
“Losing is not enjoyable at all,” interim manager Andy Green said. “Nobody wants to be a part of it. Guys in that room want to win. They show up every day with that intent. It’s up to us to get the job done.”
A silver lining to a poor season is a high draft pick. The 2018 Mets rallied from 17 below to finish 77-85 and with the 12th pick in the first round of the following draft New York selected Brett Baty out of Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) HS.
The way the MLB draft works now, all non-playoff teams are placed in a lottery for the top six picks. The team with the worst winning percentage gets the best odds at the top pick. Last year, the White Sox had a 27.7 percent chance at it and the ping pong balls bounced their way. If you want to scoreboard watch, the Mets are in a race to the bottom with the Rockies, Giants, Angels and Royals.
The Mets have not picked within the top-five of a draft since 2004 when they draft third overall.
The team, however, will remain focused on winning. Juan Soto, announced Saturday as an All-Star starter, was asked before the game what he’s most proud of this season.
“There’s not much stuff to be proud of, but definitely we’ve been trying our best,” he said. “I definitely see guys grinding. That’s one of the things that I’m really proud of. The work ethic that my teammates have, it’s unbelievable how they come and show up every day to prepare themselves to play the game.”
