NEW YORK (AP) — The flailing Mets returned home Tuesday to a quieter reception than manager Carlos Mendoza and his players anticipated with the club trying to snap an 11-game losing streak.
The tone changed once it became clear the skid was going to last at least another night.
Embattled closer Devin Williams allowed a tiebreaking RBI single to Luke Keaschall in the ninth inning and New York lost its 12th straight, falling 5-3 to the Minnesota Twins
on Tuesday night.
With an opening-day payroll of $352.2 million that tops the majors, the Mets have baseball's worst record at 7-16. The skid is their longest since they dropped 12 straight from Aug. 10-23, 2002. No team has made the playoffs after a season in which it lost 12 in a row.
New York is hitting .194 during the losing streak while being outscored 67-22. The Mets didn’t have slugger Juan Soto for any of that stretch, but he is expected to come off the injured list Wednesday after missing the last 16 games with a strained left quad.
“I’ve never been a part of something like this,” Williams said. “I think we just need to get the one win out of the way and I think everything else will take care of itself. But it’s obviously proving pretty difficult right now.”
Williams, who failed to record an out, was booed off the mound by what was left of the announced crowd of 32,798. The actual crowd appeared far smaller on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 Celsius).
At least a few spectators showed their displeasure with the time-honored tradition of wearing paper bags over their heads.
Fans began chanting “Fire Mendy!” as Williams loaded the bases. Austin Warren relieved Williams and received an ovation when he struck out Royce Lewis. The crowd then chanted his name after he struck out the next two batters, Brooks Lee and Byron Buxton.
The mood was far lighter a few hours earlier.
Patrick Heaney, the only person in section 524 at Citi Field shortly before the start of the game, grinned as he gazed at a sea of empty seats.
“You wouldn’t be here tonight if you weren’t a Met fan,” Heaney said.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor said following Sunday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs that he expected it to “get very loud” Tuesday night. But the fans didn’t make much noise until the third inning, when Lindor hit a three-run homer to open the scoring and give the Mets their biggest lead since a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on April 5.
“I think if they can get it going today, I think the fans will rally around them,” said Josh Hudson, a Tennessee resident in town for business who was sitting in section 509 with a $15 ticket he bought on the secondary market.
Heaney, a resident of Malverne on Long Island who wore a Mets hat and 2022 playoff sweatshirt, grinned as he recalled how he ended up buying a $12 ticket and heading to the game alone.
“I couldn’t get my wife to come,” Heaney said. “I couldn’t get my kids to come. I couldn’t get my friends to come. I bought one ticket, the cheapest one I could find, and I’m going to see if I can help them turn it around.”
Mendoza, in his third season as manager after six seasons on the Yankees’ coaching staff, said before the game he wouldn’t mind a frosty reception because he knows how fans will react if the team fares better.
“They’re also going to be right behind you when we flip it around,” Mendoza said. “We’ve seen that before, too, so it’s nothing new for us that have been here. We expect those guys to continue to support us, but we’ve got to do better for them, too.
“It’s all part of it. It comes with the territory. Wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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