Mets’ Late Collapse Hands Rangers 3-2 Win as New York Drops Eighth Straight
After six scoreless from Brandon Sproat and Juan Soto’s 40th homer, the Mets unraveled in the eighth and ninth innings at Citi Field and fell to 76-73
The New York Mets watched a late rally unravel Saturday at Citi Field, losing 3-2 to the Texas Rangers and extending their losing streak to eight games as their postseason hopes grew more precarious. New York (76-73) held a 2-0 lead after seven innings but surrendered runs in the eighth and ninth, falling short in front of 41,752 fans who began the evening celebrating former players and ended it booing the team on the field.
Brandon Sproat delivered six effective, scoreless innings in his Citi Field debut, scattering six hits, issuing no walks and striking out three in a 70-pitch outing. Francisco Lindor’s aggressive baserunning produced an early run and Juan Soto connected for his 40th home run of the season in the seventh to give the Mets a two-run advantage entering the late innings.
New York’s lead unraveled in the eighth after a series of small miscues and a game-tying hit by the Rangers. With Tyler Rogers pitching, a play ruled catcher’s interference against Francisco Álvarez on a swing by Josh Smith advanced the tying run. Wyatt Langford followed with a double down the third-base line to put pressure on the Mets, and the sequence continued when Rowdy Tellez’s ground-rule double into the right-field corner scored to tie the game at 2.
Edwin Díaz, charged with preserving the lead late, escaped the eighth but returned to the mound in the ninth and surrendered a pair of singles. Langford’s gap shot to right-center produced the go-ahead run, and the Rangers held their lead as the Mets went scoreless in the bottom half.
New York had a ninth-inning rally attempt. Soto opened the frame with a one-out single and pinch-hitter Ronny Mauricio followed with a two-out single to put Soto at third. Brandon Nimmo then struck out to end the game as the Mets left 12 runners on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The defeat highlighted a stretch of wasted opportunities. New York loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning only to see Starling Marte called out on a third strike. In the fourth, Marte advanced to third with two outs but Jose Siri ended the threat with a punchout on a pitch that drew protests from the crowd. In the sixth, the Mets had runners at first and second with no outs but Brett Baty was picked off second when he tried to beat a throw back to the base, halting another rally.
Sproat’s outing provided one of the few positives. He mixed a high-velocity fastball with an effective sweeper that generated four swings and misses, and the defense behind him aided in key moments, including a Jeff McNeil grab that turned into an inning-ending double play and a diving play by Mark Vientos that helped escape another jam.
Manager Carlos Mendoza’s club has now dropped eight consecutive games, a stretch that has pushed the team toward the fringe of the wild-card race with little margin for error in the final weeks of the regular season. The Mets’ standing in the playoff picture could shift further depending on results in other late games Saturday.
The loss underlined recurring late-inning struggles for New York this month and amplified concerns over closing situations. Díaz, who entered the integrated part of the eighth and returned in the ninth, was unable to secure the final outs in a game the Mets had controlled for seven innings.
The Mets return to play Sunday as the regular season approaches its final weeks, facing mounting pressure to convert scoring chances and stabilize late-inning pitching if they are to salvage a postseason berth.