Mets hit new low

The Mets’ slide reached 12 straight losses Tuesday night, dropping New York to 7-16 and the worst record in Major League Baseball. (cbssports.com) That streak hit 12 in a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field on April 21, after the Mets blew a 3-0 lead and went scoreless in the ninth. (cbssports.com) Juan Soto returned to the lineup on Wednesday, April 22, after missing 15 games with a right calf strain that put him on the injured list on April 6, retroactive to April 4. (mlb.com, mlb.com) Soto came back as the designated hitter, went 1 for 3 with a walk, and the Mets beat Minnesota 3-2 to end the skid at 12 games. (mlb.com, cbssports.com) The losing streak matched the franchise’s longest since 2002 and followed a collapse that already put pressure on this season. On June 12, 2025, the Mets were 45-24, then went 38-55 the rest of the way and missed the postseason on a tiebreaker. (cbssports.com, cbssports.com) The offense is a big part of the hole. MLB.com reported the Mets entered Wednesday ranked 30th in OPS at.617, 27th in walks with 67, and tied for 25th in batting average at.222. (mlb.com) Soto’s return matters in that context because he had been one of the few productive bats before the injury, posting a.355/.412/.516 line with one home run in his first eight games. (mlb.com) The pitching and bullpen have also fed the skid. In Tuesday’s loss, rookie Nolan McLean struck out 10 without a walk in 6 2/3 innings, but the bullpen gave up the lead and Devin Williams failed to record an out in the ninth. (cbssports.com) Manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday’s win let the club “concentrate on playing baseball and not about the losing streak,” but the Mets also lost Francisco Lindor during the game to left calf tightness and sent him for an MRI on Thursday. (cbssports.com) New York opened Thursday at 8-16, still last in the National League East and still digging out from a month that has already erased most of its margin for error. (cbssports.com, baseball-reference.com)