The New York Mets have hit a new low after the Los Angeles Dodgers shut them out, 4-0, on Monday. With manager Carlos Mendoza addressing the issue of a failing lineup, a Mets star has pointed out the obvious reason they haven’t won.

After the weekend in which they lost Juan Soto to a calf strain and clinched a series in San Francisco, the Mets’ homecoming turned ominous, and they have not recovered since. The team is 7-10, at the bottom of the NL East, and most importantly, on a six-game losing streak. The Mets’ at-bats crashed in the absence of Soto, not having scored a single run in 20 innings. NJ.com reported that in the current situation, second baseman Marcus Semien has one message for his clubhouse: they must score a run.

According to NJ.com, while acknowledging the hard work that his teammates are putting in, Semien pointed out, “We need to score a run to win games. We haven’t done it the last two. Our pitchers are throwing the ball well; we just need to get back to what we did when we were in San Francisco and what we were doing in spring training.”

The Mets got Semien in a major trade with the Texas Rangers in November 2025. He is currently on a 7-year, $175 million contract that he signed with the Rangers in 2021.

This season, Semien has recorded 12 hits in his 61 at-bats, hitting with a mere .197, driving 6 RBI and 1 homer so far. The 35-year-old is currently behind the .230 average he posted with the Rangers last season.

In terms of scoring runs per game, the Mets (3.65) have dropped to rank 26, hitting at an average of .230. As per NJ.com, they are averaging a dismal 44.85 at-bats between home runs.

According to Mendoza via NJ.com, the players are working hard to get out of the slump, but it appears they have not yet found the key.

“It obviously sucks losing games,” admitted Mendoza. “The guys are working their butts off, and I know they’ll continue to come to the yard and everyone will work their butts off and compete every night.”

The Mets faced a similar setback in 2024, when they started the season 0-5. But they ended up turning the season around to reach the NLCS. However, as long as they don’t turn it around this season, Mendoza will have to face the New York fans’ scorn. Meanwhile, Mendoza has acknowledged exactly where the Mets are lacking.

Carlos Mendoza admits to the lineup problem

The problem of an ineffective lineup is glaring, and manager Mendoza has admitted to it.

“Just having a hard time driving the baseball,” stated Mendoza, according to NJ.com. “Lot of ground balls. Even the balls that we’re hitting hard, we’re hitting them on the ground. We’re having a hard time squaring up fastballs or anything.”

The Mets only managed three singles against the Dodgers all night. Of those hits, one came from Semien at the top of the ninth, while Jorge Polanco (top fifth) and Francisco Alvarez (top eighth) hit the other two. Throughout the game, the Mets never placed a runner in a scoring position.

Against the Dodgers, the Mets made contact eight times in the first six innings, but seven of them were outs. Bo Bichette showed exactly what Mendoza meant when he smashed a 108.9 mph ground ball that resulted in an easy out. Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski completely shut the Mets down. He only needed 90 pitches to get through his eight shutout innings with only 2 hits and 2 strikeouts against the Mets.

It only took one week for the Mets to land in their current situation; they can only hope to turn it around in another.

Ultimately, the Mets did try to build a roster to challenge for the championship, but their offense has been found lacking. They are on a six-game skid, and without Juan Soto in the lineup, stars like Bichette and Semien will need to step up and lift the Mets out of this slump. The first thing that they need to do is, just like Semien said, ‘score a run,’ and find momentum from there.

Otherwise, their 2026 season could spiral out of control very, very quickly.