3 Mets red flags in Sunday’s loss that need correcting to make the playoffs

One game doesn’t tell the tale of any team over the course of 162. However, in Sunday’s 3-2 loss against the Miami Marlins, we did see many of those familiar red flags. This game wasn’t an outlier in any way. It was a reminder of what has them battling for the third Wild Card spot rather than one of the top two.

Correcting these red flags are a must if the Mets want to take a playoff spot.

1) Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is capable of making game-losing moves

Let’s begin with the obvious. Asking Jeff McNeil to bunt in the ninth inning with runners on first and second and two outs was unnecessary. Easily the team’s hottest hitter in the second half and swinging a power bat of late, requesting him to move the runners up while trailing by one run enraged the fans. Could things have ended differently? We won’t know.

The likely outcome from this would have been the Marlins walking Francisco Lindor to load the bases. While helpful as it opens up the possibility to score via bases loaded walk, taking the bat out of McNeil’s hands was far too reminiscent of the early season decision to have Brett Baty try to lay down a bunt.

Carlos Mendoza has, as any manager will, hit and missed with in-game decisions like these. If McNeil got the bunt down successfully and the Mets won, it would have still been a bad call. McNeil is finally swinging a good bat. Let him put the ball in play.

This is the second recent decision involving McNeil. On Thursday, Francisco Alvarez came off the bench to pinch hit for McNeil only to get called out on a dead ball chopped near home plate. The recent lack of trust in McNeil when he is playing well has been frustrating. Both one-run losses that could’ve ended differently if McNeil was able to swing, Mendoza needs to get a little more conservative with these choices.

3) The Mets relievers were wild, sloppy, and slightly mismanaged

The Marlins scored on a sacrifice fly, wild pitch, and a single. This doesn’t exactly explain the issue.

The wild pitch is self-explanatory. The single was the real killer.

Three walks in the inning by Reed Garrett led to the game-winning single off the bat of Derek Hill. The lone run of the game scored by the Marlins off of a hit, Garrett’s return from the IL hasn’t gone as well as we had hoped. Tagged with his second loss in as many appearances, Garrett is now looking at the possibility of losing his roster spot—at least temporarily.

Paul Blackburn delivered what has become a specialty of his: 6 innings and 1 earned run. He had a fine game for the Mets. At 92 pitches and with the relievers virtually absent from the series outside of Jose Butto on Friday for two innings, it was sensible for the Mets to call upon the bullpen to close this one out.

If there is one criticism to make of the bullpen usage it would be going to Garrett before Phil Maton. Once they had already committed to Garrett, asking Edwin Diaz to complete the 8th wouldn’t have been so bad either. He hasn’t pitched in a Mets game with the game tied or New York leading since August 7th against the Colorado Rockies.

The Mets bullpen may soon have one of their best reinforcements back, Dedniel Nunez. After this game, he can’t come back fast enough.