PITTSBURGH – Frankie Montas turned around and watched a ball hit off the bat of Tommy Pham sail into the right-field seats in the Mets’ 12-1 Sunday afternoon loss to Pittsburgh in the series finale. Pham’s blast was the bow on the Pirates’ five-run opening frame against the right-hander, in his second start of the season, that put the game out of reach before the visiting Mets got through their own lineup for the first time.
It was just that kind of weekend for New York.
Facing the NL Central’s worst statistical offense (.234 batting average) and a team on pace for nearly 100 losses, the Mets were outscored 30-4 in the three-game sweep. Despite the Pirates not getting a lengthy outing from any of their starters, the Mets struggled to apply pressure to the Pittsburgh pitching staff, one that didn't include phenom Paul Skenes.
“We are all frustrated, obviously, not going to lie,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re better than that, and they know that. It’s a tough stretch, but we’ve got to be better. It starts with me. We believe in those guys.”
On Sunday afternoon, the top four in New York’s batting order – Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso – combined to go 2-for-15 at the plate. A Luis Torrens solo home run in the fifth inning was the only offense the club mustered throughout the afternoon.
The results weren't much sharper in the field. The series marked the first time the Mets have allowed nine-plus runs in three straight games since a series vs. the Nationals from Sept. 24-26, 2007, during a stretch in which the club went 5-12 in its final 17 games to squander a seven-game division lead.
It was just the latest loss in a frustrating 12-15 month, the team’s worst monthly record this season -- and this weekend’s three defeats pushed the Mets’ road record to 19-25.
Following Saturday’s loss, the team held a lengthy players-only meeting in the clubhouse, with several veteran leaders urging the team to keep picking one another up during the losing spell. Twenty-four hours later, the team isn't any closer to finding answers.
“There’s a big league team on the other side, [we’ve] gotta tip our cap to them,” Lindor said. “They did a really good job. They outplayed us. They pitched better than us, they hit better than us, they ran the bases better than us, they played better defense. … With that being said, yeah, there’s a sense of, we’re frustrated, we’re not winning, but at the end of the day, it’s just part of the adversity that we’re dealing with right now.
“We’re going to stick together and continue to play as hard as we can, to come out of it and hopefully, once we are out of it, we don't go back to something like this.”
After the game, Mendoza joined Lindor in not pushing the blame on any one position, instead admitting that each unit hasn’t played up to par.
“We’ll continue to believe in those guys,” Mendoza said. “They’re good players. They’re going through a very tough stretch right now.”
A reason for optimism is the recent hitting exploits of New York’s biggest offseason acquisition, Soto. The outfielder batted .322 with 11 home runs and 20 RBIs in June, finishing tied with six other Mets for the second-most home runs in a single month in franchise history (Dave Kingman in July 1975 and Gary Carter in September 1985 had 13). His 1.196 OPS was the second best in a single month in team history behind Darryl Strawberry (1.209 OPS in June 1990).
The power numbers displayed by Soto, along with a few other hitters sitting atop New York’s batting order, are one of the reasons the group finds themselves still just 1 1/2 games back of the Phillies in the NL East. This group marks the first time in franchise history that the Mets have had four players – Soto (20), Alonso (18), Lindor (16) and Nimmo (15) – with at least 15 home runs in a season prior to the end of June.
Still, an off-day couldn't have come at a better time, and Lindor is hopeful the Mets will come out of it fully rested to take on a hot Milwaukee team.
“It’s a tough stretch for sure,” Lindor said. “Hopefully [after] getting the mental day off and getting away from the field we can come back and get back on the horse.”