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.

2) The Mets offense went into a familiar malaise on Sunday

The Mets had 9 hits and drew 4 walks. McNeil was even hit by a pitch. They kept the bases crowded early on but failed to capitalize. Hitters would finish the day 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. A total of 9 runners were left on base.

This narrative about the Mets struggling with runners in scoring position isn’t going away anytime soon. The problem in this game came down to the type of hits they had. All but the Brandon Nimmo solo home run were singles. They had three double plays turned against them, only one on the ground.

As messy as the Marlins were on the bases, they excelled in other areas. They were 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left only 6 runners on base. Their hitters struck out 7 times versus the 12 for the Mets lineup. They put the ball in play and with only a triple going for extra base hits, managed to come away with the victory because the Mets had one far bigger problem than offensive ineptitude or questionable managerial decisions.

The real reason the Mets weren’t able to complete the sweep is because the well-rested bullpen couldn’t throw strikes.