One Step Forward, Two Steps Back — And It’s Becoming a Pattern
One night after a breakout win, the Mets fall flat, and the underlying issues are hard to ignore. Key takeaways, latest news, and everything in between in one read.
Thursday: April 30
The Mets didn’t just lose Wednesday night.
They got flipped.
One night after blowing out the Nationals behind a seven-run fourth inning, Washington returned the favor in almost identical fashion -- hanging a seven-spot of their own in the fourth and putting this one away early in a 14-2 loss.
And just like that, whatever momentum Tuesday may have created…was gone.
David Peterson (0-4), making his first start in over two weeks, never looked comfortable. He lasted just 3.2 innings, and with two outs in the fourth, things unraveled quickly. A walk forced in a run, ending his night, and moments later Sean Manaea was thrown into the fire.
It only got worse.
Nationals third baseman Brady House jumped on Manaea and launched a grand slam to left field, breaking the game open and effectively ending it right there.
That’s the thing about this stretch. It’s not just that the Mets are losing -- it’s how quickly things seem to unravel.
The loss guarantees a losing homestand and drops the Mets to 10 games under .500 just 30 games into the season.
Ten wins. Twenty losses. That’s not a slow start. That’s a hole.
The offense, which has hovered near the bottom of the league all season, once again had no answers.
And it’s not hard to see why.
The bottom half of the lineup -- five straight hitters -- all entered the night with an OPS under .600. There’s just not enough production there right now to sustain anything offensively.
With rain falling throughout the night in Queens, it felt like a step backward in every sense.
One step forward Tuesday. Two steps back Wednesday.
The one constant? Juan Soto.
Another home run. Three more hits. And right now, he’s one of the very few reasons this lineup has any life at all.
The Mets will have a chance to salvage the series in the rubber game Thursday afternoon before heading back out west.
But at some point, they need more than flashes.
They need consistency -- and fast.
Peterson’s Final Line In The Mets’ Loss:
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🐐 Juan Soto Is A Generational Talent🐐
There are only three players in MLB history with at least 240 HR, 700 RBIs, 900 walks and a .410 OBP in their first nine career-seasons:
Ted Williams: 293/1135/1183/.486 (HOF)
Frank Thomas: 286/963/989/.443 (HOF)
Juan Soto: 247/705/905/.417 (active)
Soto, who once again was the Mets’ DH on Wednesday, continues to weather left forearm tightness. He had previously missed 2.5 weeks with a calf strain. He has doubled down on being 100% healthy in regards to his calf strain injury and Mets’ manager Carlos Mendoza has said the plan is for Soto to play in the outfield sometime this week and his workload will be “fluid.”
Soto has reached base safely in all 15-games he’s played in this year. It’s the longest on-base streak of his career to start a season.
On Wednesday, he went 3-for-5, with a homer and is currently slashing .327/.422/.545/.967 OPS.
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🤯 WILD, BUT TRUE 🤯
Only four pitchers (min. 30 IP) have posted a sub-2.00 ERA with a GB% over 50 percent this season:
Parker Messick. Shohei Ohtani. José Soriano and Clay Holmes.
🗞️ News and Notes In Mets Land 🗞️
🔶 Outfielder Tommy Pham cleared waivers and the Mets outrighted him to Triple-A Syracuse. Rather than accept the assignment, Pham elected free agency.
🔷 Only 3 outfielders in MLB have more outs above average than Carson Benge. More on that later.
🔶 Luis Robert Jr. (back) “didn’t improve much” overnight, per Mendoza. He’s receiving an MRI today (Wednesday) and the injured list is in play for him.
🏟️ Around The League 🏟️
🤕 The Red Sox placed ace LHP Garrett Crochet on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation.
His stint on the IL is retroactive to Sunday. Crochet is 3-3 on the season with a 6.30 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
Crochet pitched six-shutout innings in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles in a 17-1 victory, which was Alex Cora’s final game before being dismissed.
🚀 Aaron Judge & Ben Rice have combined for 22 HR & 42 walks through the Yankees’ first 30 games in 2026.
The only other teammates to combine for both marks through 30 team games in MLB history are Mark McGwire + Jim Edmonds (StL) in 2000 & Babe Ruth + Lou Gehrig (NYY) in 1930.
👑 Mike Trout hit his 10th home run of the year Wednesday afternoon. MLB’s current fWAR leaders:
1) Yordan Alvarez (2.0)
2) Elly De La Cruz (1.7)
3) Aaron Judge (1.7)
4) Mike Trout 🎣 (1.6)
💉 Former Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramírez tested positive for four anabolic steroids at the World Baseball Classic in March where he set a record as its oldest ever player.
⚾️ The Mets (10-20) will play the rubber game of their three-game series against the Nationals (14-17) on Thursday afternoon from Citi Field. Freddy Peralta (1-3, 3.90) will take the ball for New York vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (0-3, 8.49). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10PM. The game can be seen on SNY.
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