Chicago — The Mets’ Struggles Continue
If there’s a baseball hell, it seems the Mets have found it, and they might be making it their home for the foreseeable future.
The reasons behind their ongoing struggles shift from game to game, but one truth stands firm: the Mets keep losing. A lot.
On Saturday, the team hit a new low, suffering a 4-2 defeat against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. This marked their tenth straight loss, just one away from tying the franchise’s longest losing streak in two decades.
The Mets managed to avoid the cringe-worthy performance they had the previous day, where Kodai Chiga struggled, and defense was lackluster. Still, their play wasn’t enough to reverse their downward trajectory.
Freddy Peralta, along with Brooks Lally, didn’t fare well either, crumbling during the sixth inning. Peralta was trying to pitch his second consecutive game. However, with the score tied and two outs, he issued walks to Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, losing control of the game. Manager Carlos Mendoza called for a rally, but one pitch later, pinch hitter Carson Kelly launched a three-run home run, swinging the momentum away from the Mets. They never managed to bounce back.
This loss continued a trend, as it was the eighth time the Mets have lost by two runs or fewer.
Peralta lasted 5⅓ innings, giving up three earned runs on three hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. His major mistake? Not recording the final out in that crucial sixth inning.
Mark Vientos initially gave the Mets a 1-0 lead with a home run in the second inning, launching a pitch from Jameson Taillon deep into the left-field seats for his second home run this season. However, after the excitement, the inning fizzled out as Marcus Semien singled and moments later, Bo Bichette ended the threat.
In the bottom of that same inning, Happ responded with a home run, tying the game. Peralta managed to get through a few quick outs afterward but allowed a single to Miguel Amaya before retiring Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson.
Despite some early efforts, like Luis Robert Jr. getting a single in the third but getting caught trying to steal, the offense fell short. Semien walked in the fifth but a double play turned by Bichette ended that rally too. In the sixth, MJ Melendez drew a two-out walk but Tyrone managed to retire Francisco Alvarez.
Peralta secured two fast outs again in the sixth but faltered at the end. After the walks, Kelly sent a pitch flying over the left-field wall, putting the Mets in a deeper hole at 4-1.
Though the Mets had their chances, including an unearned run allowed in the eighth due to a throwing error by Nico Hoerner, they couldn’t capitalize. Vientos, who had been significant in earlier at-bats, grounded out to quash the potential rally with two outs and the bases loaded.
Taillon kept the Mets in check, surrendering only one earned run across five hits and three walks over six innings before his exit after 100 pitches.
