PHILADELPHIA -- When Starling Marte, the sixth straight batter to reach base safely to start the game, flashed the New York Mets' celebratory gesture while standing on second base, there was, at last, reason to feel good. Alas, these are the 2025 Mets. That feeling is fleeting -- in the rare instances over the last few months when it even pops up at all.
After Marte's double in the first inning Thursday night, the Mets failed to reach base. The next batter, Jeff McNeil, lined into a double play. From there, it was 24 batters up, 24 batters down.
The Mets at least found a new way to lose. In their 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, they coughed up a four-run lead. That's where the newness ends. They've dropped six in a row, including all four in a series against the Phillies, who pushed their lead in the NL East to 11 games. The Mets' lead for the final wild-card spot is down to 1 1/2 games. Fifteen games are left.
"We don't have too much time," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "Teams are right behind us. The way you look at it is, we are still in control of the situation. We are still in control of achieving the ultimate goal. But we have to go out and do it."
Baffling? Frustrating? One scout who has watched the Mets this week offered those words to describe the team's play, but they fail to do justice to the situation. As late as June 12, the Mets owned baseball's best record (45-24). Since then, they are 31-47. In that span, they've endured three losing streaks of at least six games. Despite a collection of star players, they are fighting for their playoff lives.
The Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants trail the Mets (76-71) by 1 1/2 games. The Mets own the tiebreaker over the Giants. They don't own the tiebreaker over the Reds. If all three teams finish the season tied, the Reds would make the playoffs based on their three-way head-to-head record.
The Mets' latest loss showcased everything that has gone wrong: bad hitting, bad starting pitching, bad relief pitching, bad defense.
First, about the vanishing act the lineup pulled off: After scoring four runs against Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo in the first inning, the Mets did nothing against the lefty for the next seven innings. He spotted the edges of the strike zone with his sweeper and fastball, and even when pitches drifted too much over the plate, the Mets failed to do much against them. He piled up 10 strikeouts, needed to throw just 97 pitches over eight innings. Along the way, he made Mark Vientos spike a helmet and McNeil toss equipment. In the ninth inning, Jhoan Duran struck out the side.
"I feel like I got one pitch to hit all game," McNeil said.
Defensively, McNeil misplayed a ball in center field. He broke in a ball off Bryce Harper's bat that eventually sailed over his head. The RBI-double cut the Mets' lead to 4-3.
On the pitching side, the Mets got another mediocre start. David Peterson lasted just five innings, allowing three runs, courtesy of Otto Kemp's two-run home run in the fourth inning and Harper's double. From there, the Phillies rallied for three more runs in the sixth inning against relievers Reed Garrett and Brooks Raley.
The best thing for the Mets on Thursday? The Reds and Giants were idle. It does not get easier for the Mets, who continue to make things hard for themselves. Up next: Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers, who are firmly in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the American League.
Throughout their slide, the Mets have pointed to the talent level in their clubhouse and how history shows they just need to get into the playoffs, regardless of how arduous the road might be. But they are on pace for just 84 wins. To even reach that figure, the Mets would need to go 8-7 the rest of the way. Can they do that? Would that be enough? These are questions the Mets should not be facing, but, to borrow a phrase from Mendoza, here the Mets are.
"It's my job to get these guys going, and I will," Mendoza said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself, the coaches and the players. It is not easy right now. We are very frustrated. But, look, we still have an opportunity to achieve our goal."