NEW YORK — When Francisco Lindor led off the bottom of the seventh inning, reality reduced Citi Field’s a cappella rendition of “My Girl” to a soft mumble.
It seemed appropriate, given all the fun we’ve had over the past few months, juxtaposed with current issues and how things are changing.
The clock is almost up on the New York Mets season.
The Mets are facing elimination after another lackluster performance in the National League Championship Series. They lost 10-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night in a game in which they looked completely outclassed. Again. They trail the Dodgers in the series, 3-1.
Worse than those numbers, because teams have mounted comebacks from such deficits, the Mets appear to be running out of gas.
“Sean (Manaea) said it the other day,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said when asked if his rotation had hit a proverbial wall.
Here’s what Manaea said Monday after his departure when asked about his final run: “I just hit a wall. I mean, I don’t know, I just hit a wall. I’m obviously not trying to do that. I really don’t have any other excuse than that.
So Mendoza continued…
“We ask a lot of these guys,” he said. “And we’re playing a good team. You have to give these guys credit. It’s a complete range. This is good programming. And whether those guys felt it or not, we didn’t execute and we didn’t get length with them.
The problem can be spotted elsewhere as there’s no reason why the Mets were outscored 30-9 in the NLCS, but the rotation is as good a place to start as any.
New York relied heavily on strong starting pitchers in the final months of the regular season, but that came with a catch. The more the Mets’ veteran rotation, after injuries and reduced workloads a year ago, provided quality outings, the more fear grew that there was a tax to pay. Unfortunately, for the Mets, that deadline appeared in mid-October.
Jose Quintana is a year older and 100 innings older than he was in 2023. (Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)
The Mets’ path to playoff victory was to camouflage their shallow bullpen by trusting their starters to pitch deeper in games than most other teams’ pitchers would in October. It didn’t work against the Dodgers, a lineup loaded with stars and an overall tool of plate discipline.
Game 4 starter Jose Quintana, 35 years old and more than 100 innings older than his total since he was a year younger, never had much of a chance. The Dodgers negated his work-the-edges style, leading to four walks, five hits and five runs in just 3 1/3 innings. By the time the scorebook closed on Quintana, the Mets were facing a 5-2 deficit.
Earlier in the week, Mendoza indicated that rest days were an important part of the calculation when ordering his rotation for the NLCS — even if his starters were getting extra rest.
“I think it depends on where they are physically,” Mendoza said. “Those three guys (Quintana, Manaea and Luis Severino), they’re in territory right now where they weren’t.”
In four games, no Mets starter has recorded an out in the sixth inning. Meanwhile, on the Dodgers side, only Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty managed the feat, pitching seven innings. But that’s part of the difference between the Mets and the Dodgers. Los Angeles can win in other ways, including relying on several leverage arms looming in its bullpen.
Late in Quintana’s outing, the Mets turned to reliever José Buttó. Once a late-inning mainstay, his shaky performance relegated Buttó to less stressful situations in the postseason. Buttó allowed two inherited runners to score. This is his first season as a consistent contributor to the major league roster. In addition, he started the season as a starter. Running out of gas?
For Game 5, the Mets will start left-hander David Peterson. As Athletics previously reported, he was always an option over Kodai Senga, as long as the Mets didn’t end up using him first out of the bullpen.
Peterson is establishing himself as the Mets’ top option, but he hasn’t started a game since September 29 and has pitched as a reliever in multiple innings since then, finishing in three innings on October 5.
“We’ve been through a lot this year,” Peterson said, “and it’s made us who we are at this point.”
The Mets hope to keep alive an improbable season that includes Grimace and OMG. (Photo: Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
Lindor added: “If you don’t have any beliefs, you shouldn’t be here. You have to believe. You have to fight for what you want. You have to fight for this.
From New York’s perspective, the season isn’t over yet. The Mets have talked about adding a new chapter to a wild storyline containing pages about OMG and Grimace. On Friday, The Temptations will perform “My Girl” after singing the national anthem. Yes, that’s another real sentence about the 2024 Mets. They’re hoping to write a few more improbable ones.
Inside the clubhouse, there was a common theme as players moved on from the past. The Mets were on their final outing in Milwaukee, several players pointed out. It was in the Wild Card series though. It didn’t involve winning three in a row. It was only a few weeks ago, but it seems much longer. A lot has happened since then.
And it’s not just the Mets rotation that seems to be running out of gas in this series. Position players like Jose Iglesias and Francisco Alvarez haven’t done much either. Brandon Nimmo suffers from plantar fasciitis and, to his credit, continues to hustle with every ground ball.
The Mets have overcome many challenges. Players walked the line inspiring hope while recognizing the weight of this particular task. The Mets shouldn’t be ruled out completely, but their long-standing concerns about how they handled previous tests could finally catch up with them.
(Top photo of the Mets in the dugout: Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)