The Mets came into the weekend on a seven-game skid, trying to avoid a third straight series loss. That slide has dropped them into the final NL Wild Card spot, with the Giants and Reds breathing down their necks. But then came the latest blow: another loss to the Rangers, stretching the skid to eight games and sealing their third straight series defeat. So yeah, no wonder the Mets fans are restless.

“The Mets have lost eight in a row and, for the first time this season, are not in control of their own playoff destiny,” Mets insider Anthony DiComo wrote, sharing the scorecard of Saturday’s game.

So, what went wrong in the game for the Mets? Their bullpen! Well, what looked like a strong season has really gone off the rails for the Mets, and once again, the pitching staff is right in the middle of it. And that same story played out today!

The Mets were up 2–0 heading into the eighth, but the bullpen couldn’t hold. With Tyler Rogers on the mound, things started unraveling right away. Josh Smith reached on catcher’s interference, then Wyatt Langford ripped a double down the left-field line to set up runners on second and third. Joc Pederson’s sac fly cut the lead in half, and a few batters later, Rowdy Tellez came through with a pinch-hit double to right, bringing in Langford and tying it at two. In one word, another day, another bullpen meltdown for the Mets!

Result? The Mets are currently standing with a 76-73 record. That’s 12 games behind the table-topper Phillies! In the NL Wild Card race, the Mets are ranked fourth with one loss more behind the Giants. And as DiComo previously pointed out, the Mets’ playoff destiny is not in their own hands.

And the fans’ frustrations have finally boiled over, and they are openly demanding that Carlos Mendoza step down.

Calls mount against the Mets manager, Carlos Mendoza

“Bye bye, Mendoza,” one fan was clear with their emotion. “Everyone needs to be fired, from Stearns all the way down. Mendoza, with a horrible game as usual, every move he makes backfires,” added another.

Horrible game for Mendoza? Ahh, yes, a few blown-up calls. Just before today’s game, the Mets turned to their newest call-up, Brandon Sproat, hoping he could put an end to the skid in just his second big-league start. And he was going as expected. Notably, he tossed six shutout innings with three SOs and even carried a 2–0 lead into the seventh.

But instead of letting the rookie keep rolling, Mendoza pulled him after just 70 pitches. And guess what, that decision backfired quickly. The bullpen came in and immediately coughed up the lead. “So many brutal things in this one, that’s when you know it’s going bad. Mendoza is pulling Sproat early. Baty picked off. Alvarez’s catcher’s interference. Lindor misses a routine catch. Probably more, but I’m exhausted lol,” another user shared his frustration over the mistaken calls.

Amid all this noise, one user reflected how placing Edwin Diaz was another wrong decision by the Mets manager. “When Diaz can’t even hold leads, epic collapse to this season, damn.” Well, Mendoza’s early move forced All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to come in an inning earlier than usual, and he ended up giving up the game-winning run in the ninth. As expected, the final score came with the Mets 3, Rangers 2, and another gut punch for a team that can’t seem to get out of its own way. “Stearns and Mendoza need to go. This is a disgrace,” one user wrote, echoing similar thoughts.

Now, the Phillies are out of reach for the Mets. And it’s all come down to how the Reds and Giants perform in the remaining games. If the Mets want to play October baseball, they need to get out of this rut quickly and hope that the Reds and Giants do them a favor.