CHICAGO \u2014 Now the Mets aren\u2019t doing anything right.<\/p>\n
A losing streak, defined much of past week by the team\u2019s hitting woes, has turned into overall stinky play. The Mets seemingly are getting worse.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Kodai Senga imploded, the defense leaked and the lineup was inefficient in an embarrassing 12-4 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field that gave the Mets a nine-game losing streak. The skid is the club\u2019s longest since 2004 when they lost 11 straight.<\/p>\n
It was a second straight loss in which the Mets surrendered at least eight runs. The clunker followed president of baseball operations David Stearns\u2019 pregame backing of manager Carlos Mendoza.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Mendy is doing a really good job,\u201d Stearns said before the first pitch. \u201cHe\u2019s putting our players in a position to succeed. He\u2019s enormously consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following another brutal team performance, Mendoza searched for answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have got to be able to put a consistent game here where we\u2019re clicking our best, with starters, playing defense, offensively, that has got to start,\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n
Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (34) leaves the mound after a pitching change during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, April 17, 2026, in Chicago. AP<\/p>\n
In a second straight ugly performance, Senga allowed seven runs, six earned, on six hits and three walks over 3 \u00b9\/\u2083 innings. The right-hander was buried by two homers allowed. The Mets trailed 4-0 and 6-3 after the first and second innings, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday [was] a new day and I wanted to get the team on the right foot,\u201d Senga said through his interpreter, referring to the losing streak. \u201cBut giving up not just one run, but multiple runs in the early innings certainly doesn\u2019t put the team in a groove. That\u2019s the one thing I didn\u2019t want to do and unfortunately that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendoza said it was too early to say if a change in the rotation is forthcoming.<\/p>\n
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Brett Baty misplayed two grounders at first base \u2014 only one of which was ruled an error \u2014 leading the defensive meltdown and giving the Cubs an unearned run in the fourth.<\/p>\n
The Mets had 14 hits, but only three went for extra bases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tough spot, for sure,\u201d Baty said. \u201cI think it just goes back to just keep putting our head down and keep working hard. It\u2019s a long season, so you have just got to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs tags out Tyrone Taylor of the New York Mets attempts to reach second base during the second inning at Wrigley Field on April 17, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Moises Ballesteros\u2019 opposite-field shot to left in the first inning inflicted much of the damage against Senga. The three-run homer gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead in an inning that Chicago sent seven batters to the plate.<\/p>\n
Michael Busch walked and Alex Bregman singled before Seiya Suzuki\u2019s single brought in the game\u2019s first run. Ballesteros followed by jumping on Senga\u2019s first-pitch cutter and clearing the ivy in left.<\/p>\n
The Mets broke out for three runs \u2014 matching their total over the previous four games \u2014 in the second inning. Marcus Semien stroked an RBI double following consecutive singles by Francisco Alvarez and MJ Melendez. After Baty struck out, Tyrone Taylor hit a shot off the left field wall for a two-run single, on which he was thrown out trying to reach second following a fast carom to center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.<\/p>\n
Senga surrendered a two-run homer to Nico Hoerner in the bottom of the inning that increased the Mets\u2019 deficit to 6-3. Senga walked Dansby Swanson before Hoerner blasted a 1-1 four-seamer over the left field wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not getting ahead, not getting first-pitch strikes, getting to hitters\u2019 counts,\u201d Senga said. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously not a good sign, but at the same time I am not all that far off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos Mendoza stands stands in the dugout during the first inning. AP<\/p>\n
Baty\u2019s rough inning at first base in the fourth allowed the Cubs to score an earned run and extend their lead to 7-3. First, Baty couldn\u2019t handle Busch\u2019s grounder that went for a single and loaded the bases. Ian Happ\u2019s more routine grounder to Baty that should have ended the inning was booted for an error, yielding the run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have got to make both [plays] \u2014 it\u2019s as simple as that,\u201d said Baty, who began playing first base in spring training. \u201cI feel like I make those plays 10 times out of 10. I have to make them. I don\u2019t care that the first one was a hit. It was a play that should be made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt Shaw smashed an RBI double against Sean Manaea in the seventh that extended the Cubs\u2019 lead to 8-3. Suzuki\u2019s double started the rally.<\/p>\n
The Cubs scored twice against Manaea in the seventh. In the eighth, Happ blasted the Cubs\u2019 third homer of the game \u2014 a two-run shot that widened the deficit to 12-4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 Now the Mets aren\u2019t doing anything right. A losing streak, defined much of past week by…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":736427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,27639,1271,3689,27641,1266,405,403,1305,5226,5225,5228,5227,62,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-736426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-carlos-mendoza","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-francisco-lindor","12":"tag-kodai-senga","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-mets","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkcity","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116425056884440807","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}