CHICAGO — The New York Mets’ losing streak has reached historic proportions, and star shortstop Francisco Lindor knows the criticism is about to intensify dramatically.
The noise around the struggling franchise is already deafening.
New York suffered its 11th straight defeat Sunday when closer Devin Williams surrendered a ninth-inning advantage in a 2-1 extra-inning defeat to the Chicago Cubs. The streak matches the franchise’s worst stretch since dropping 11 consecutive contests from late August through early September in 2004.
“We’ve just got to stick together and stay within ourself and fight,” Lindor said. “Fight.”
With Lindor and Juan Soto leading the charge, the Mets entered this season harboring championship dreams. Their opening-day roster carried a major league-high payroll of $352.2 million.
Soto injured his right calf muscle during a 10-3 triumph in San Francisco on April 3 — the start of a four-game winning run that boosted New York to 7-4.
Those days feel like ancient history now.
During their current slide, the Mets have been outscored by opponents 62-19. The team is hitting just .145 with runners in scoring position throughout the streak, including an 0-for-9 performance in those crucial situations during Sunday’s series finale.
“We didn’t hit that many balls hard today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “So yeah, we’ve got to get better at-bats, for sure.”
New York became the first club to endure 11 or more consecutive defeats in April since the 2022 Cincinnati Reds. The franchise’s last 12-game skid occurred in August 2002.
Just four teams in baseball history have made the playoffs after experiencing a double-digit losing streak, including Cleveland last season and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.
“I think it does compound as you continue to lose, but that’s for us to stop it and get ourselves going on the right track,” Mets pitcher David Peterson said.
Much of the anticipated criticism Lindor referenced will likely target Mendoza, who was brought aboard in November 2023. However, baseball operations president David Stearns supported Mendoza on Friday, and Lindor mounted a passionate defense of his skipper following Sunday’s setback.
“Mendy’s our guy. He’s our leader,” the All-Star shortstop declared. “He’s in control and he’s done a tremendous job. We just haven’t executed. It would be unfair to put everything on him because at the end of the day he has gotten the ship in the right direction. The people that are paddling, we’ve got to paddle and execute.”
Despite their offensive woes, New York was positioned to avoid a sweep in the final game of their six-game road trip.
The Mets held a 1-0 advantage before Williams allowed pinch-hitter Michael Conforto’s game-tying double in the ninth inning. Craig Kimbrel took the defeat when Nico Hoerner plated Pete Crow-Armstrong with a sacrifice fly in the 10th.
Williams, 31, inked a three-year, $51 million deal with New York during free agency.
“I’m really, really disappointed,” Williams said. “They gave me a lead. It’s my job to hold it, and I made a mistake. It cost us the game today.”
The Mets have Monday off before starting a nine-game homestand Tuesday evening against the Minnesota Twins. Soto is anticipated to return sometime during the homestand, though Lindor and his teammates understand the slugger alone cannot solve their problems.
“It’s going to lengthen our lineup, but even when he comes, we’ve still got to get it done,” Lindor said. “It would be unfair to just throw everything on him. As a team, we’ve got to come together and execute.”
