Same Old Problems Plague New York Mets In Loss Against Seattle Mariners
Being a Mets fan requires a special kind of resolve, and Friday night’s 11-9 loss to the Seattle Mariners was a masterclass in emotional whiplash that would make even the most seasoned therapist reach for their notepad.
For exactly one magical moment in the fourth inning at Citi Field, everything felt right in the world. Francisco Lindor crushed a two-run homer to left field, and the crowd was buzzing with that familiar dangerous optimism that every Mets fan knows they shouldn’t trust but can’t help feeling anyway. Then Juan Soto stepped up to the plate and absolutely demolished the very next pitch, sending it screaming into center field for his 30th home run of the season.
Back-to-back homers. The stadium erupted. Fans were hugging strangers. For a brief, shining moment, it felt like the Mets might actually be climbing out of the pit they have been digging for themselves over the past two months.
The Mets’ Bullpen Strikes Again
But here’s the thing about hope when you’re a Mets fan. It is basically just delayed disappointment wrapped in orange and blue. What followed was yet another bullpen collapse that had fans reaching for their blood pressure medication and questioning their life choices.
The numbers don’t lie, and they’re absolutely brutal. This loss marked the Mets’ 14th defeat in their last 16 games, a stretch so painful that even die-hard fans are starting to eye the exit signs. They are now sitting six games behind the Phillies in the NL East and clinging to a measly half-game lead for the final playoff spot.
Sean Manaea lasted just five innings, giving up four runs and looking about as comfortable as a vegetarian at a barbecue competition. But the real fireworks came from the bullpen that was supposedly strengthened at the trade deadline.
Ryan Helsley, the former Cardinals closer who was brought in to shore up the late innings, couldn’t hold a 6-5 lead in the seventh. The guy has now allowed five earned runs in just 5.1 innings across six appearances with the Mets. At this point, watching Helsley pitch is like watching someone try to defuse a bomb while wearing oven mitts.
When Even Lindor’s Heroics Can’t Save the Day
Lindor did everything humanly possible to drag this team kicking and screaming to victory. The shortstop went yard twice, including a leadoff homer that tied Curtis Granderson’s Mets record for most leadoff shots in a season. His two-run blast in the fourth gave the team a 5-4 lead and had fans believing in miracles again.
“It’s part of the mountain,” Lindor said after the game, somehow managing to sound philosophical about what can only be described as organizational torture. “You got to climb the mountain, and right now, we’re in a very steep part of it.”
The Bullpen Blues Continue To Haunt Queens
The seventh inning was where dreams went to die. Brooks Raley and the rest of the relief corps combined to give up five runs, turning what should have been a manageable lead into another exercise in fan suffering. The boos rained down from the stands like a summer thunderstorm, and honestly, who could blame them?
Manager Carlos Mendoza tried to put a positive spin on things, but even he sounded like someone trying to convince themselves that their house isn’t actually on fire. “It’s hard to describe, especially with how much talent and elite arms we got back there,” he said.
Catcher Francisco Álvarez did his best to mount a comeback with a three-run blast in the eighth, cutting the deficit to just two runs. But by then, the Mets had dug themselves such a deep hole that even a construction crew would have needed heavy machinery to get out.
The Reality Check That Nobody Wanted
Meanwhile, Cal Raleigh was busy making history for all the wrong reasons if you are wearing orange and blue. His 46th home run of the season moved him past Johnny Bench for the second-most homers in a season by a catcher, and he became the first American League player to reach 100 RBI this year.
The Mariners are now just half a game behind the Astros in the AL West, playing meaningful baseball in August while the Mets are careening their way toward another October spent watching from the couch.
Since June 12, the Mets are 19-34. That’s not a slump. It is a complete organizational breakdown disguised as a baseball team. At this rate, they’ll be mathematically eliminated before some fans even realize football season has started. The most frustrating part? This team has talent. Real, legitimate, major league talent. But watching them play lately feels like watching someone try to solve a Rubik’s Cube while wearing blindfolds and boxing gloves.
As Lindor put it, “If we don’t get ourselves together and we don’t push ourselves to be better, the mountain is going to be tough to climb.” For Mets fans, Friday night was just another chapter in a season that started with championship dreams and has devolved into a masterclass in how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The back-to-back homers from Lindor and Soto were beautiful, but they were also a cruel reminder of what this team could be.
