Mets manager Carlos Mendoza can't bench everyone, but he keeps looking for a spark . . . any spark
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza watches the RBI double by Philadelphia Phillies’ Alec Bohm during the ninth inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
All you need to know about the state of the Mets’ offense right now was explained during Carlos Mendoza’s media briefing before Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to the Phillies, a sleepy afternoon at Citi Field made even more so by Aaron Nola taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning.
With the struggling Jeff McNeil replaced in the lineup by Joey Wendle, that naturally spurred some pregame questions. A week earlier, Mendoza used the same tactic with Pete Alonso, and it triggered a quick resurgence. Now it was McNeil’s turn in the finale of this mini-series against the division-leading Phillies, and why not? The former batting champ was nearly invisible anyway down in the bottom third of the order.
“Probably pressing a little bit,” Mendoza said. “Trying to do too much.”
Normally, that would be the end of the benching discussion. Instead, the conversation moved on to who should be next.
How about Brett Baty? The second-year third baseman had turned to bunting recently as his salvation, and if that wasn’t a cry for help from the No. 6 hitter, the guy positioned to protect J.D. Martinez in the lineup, it couldn’t be more plain than his nosediving numbers.
Mendoza admitted that he also has considered sitting Baty, either separately or in conjunction with McNeil, and that should’ve been the first clue. Because a few hours later, after Baty’s 0-for-3 deepened his skid to 1-for-22 (.045) with 10 strikeouts and zero walks, Mark Vientos was scratched from Tuesday’s Syracuse lineup and headed to Philly for Wednesday’s series opener.
The initial plan would seem to be a platoon at third, as Baty is hitting .172 (5-for-29) with a .476 OPS against lefties. But the move should officially put Baty on notice, since carrying another corner infielder — the Mets are expected to DFA Joey Wendle, a source said — doesn’t provide much roster flexibility going forward. Baty’s futility just left them no choice but to call up Vientos again.
“He’s going through it too,” Mendoza said of Baty. “I think he’s been passive early in counts. Then he’s chasing and not impacting the baseball the way he’s capable of.”
What’s a manager to do? Rather than filling out a lineup card, Mendoza is left to play Whack-A-Mole with his flailing hitters. Maybe part of that has to do with giving them a mental breather, but he’s got to think about the Mets’ best chance to win, too. Neither McNeil nor Baty has figured into that equation over the past week or so.
If it’s any consolation, none of that seemed to matter Tuesday, as the Mets didn’t get a hit off Nola until Tyrone Taylor smacked his first pitch of the sixth inning — a flat cutter — into leftfield for a solid single. Of course, nothing came of that, or Starling Marte’s leadoff single in the seventh, which was erased by Alonso’s 5-4-3 double play.
Nola’s day was so effortless that he needed only 59 pitches through five innings. To complete the seventh, he required only three. The Mets rattled Nola some in the ninth, as his pitch count finally cracked 100, but the rally was short-lived. Consider it a moral victory that McNeil, who was in a 1-for-14 spiral, delivered a pinch-hit double in the ninth, punching a 71-mph floater that softly rolled behind Brandon Marsh on his diving attempt.
Marte smacked a two-out single (he had half the Mets’ four hits) and that left it up to Francisco Lindor. With Nola at 108 pitches, already past his season high of 106, Lindor had to figure he’d be getting a fastball down the middle, and he popped up the first pitch to seal the Mets’ 14th loss in 21 games.
“It seems like we are in a month where the uphill fight is even harder,” Lindor said. “But you’ve just got to do it. You just got to take care of business. This is not a time where you start pointing fingers.”
Too late for that. Mendoza may not be attaching specific blame to anyone, but he’s going down the list, identifying the biggest offenders and trying to find solutions where he can. Problem is, there’s too many culprits on the roster, which is to be expected when your .680 OPS ranks 20th in the majors.
The Mets squeezed out only one win on this six-game homestand against their two biggest NL East rivals, and they needed a walkoff homer Sunday night from Brandon Nimmo — who didn’t start because of intercostal (rib) soreness — to secure the 4-3 comeback victory. Lest we forget, Mendoza & Co. nearly were victimized by a combined no-hitter in Saturday’s matinee, but Martinez smacked a two-out homer off Raisel Iglesias — Atlanta’s third pitcher — to spare the Mets from that indignity.
Still, Tuesday’s loss dropped the Mets to three games below .500 (19-22) for the first time since April 9 (4-7) and it’s not going to get any easier facing Ranger Suarez (7-0, 1.50 ERA) in Wednesday’s opener at Citizens Bank Park. Vientos is coming, but he’s not going to be a savior, and it’s not like Mendoza can swap out the entire lineup.
“The plan, the process, it seems like we are executing it,” Lindor said. “We just haven’t got the results.”
Maybe so. But one doesn’t mean much without the other.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
