Mets owner Steve Cohen calls out 'unproductive' hitters after fifth straight loss
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen called out the club's "unproductive" hitters after Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants, their fifth straight defeat, dropped them to 59-60 on the season.
It is the first time the Mets are under .500 since they were 12-13 on May 5, and now they're 4.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
The Mets offense has struggled all year. New York is scoring just 3.78 runs per game this season, the third-fewest in baseball. The Mets also rank 26th with a .380 team slugging percentage, while their OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is 24th at .693.
Mets manager Luis Rojas said Sunday that the coaching staff is working hard to get the team out of its current funk, adding, "These guys are good hitters. We've seen it in the past. We're working… we're doing everything in the book."
With players such as Pete Alonso, James McCann, Michael Conforto, Javier Baez and Francisco Lindor, it's confounding as to how the offense is struggling so badly.
New York is currently 6.5 games out of an NL wild-card spot. At this point, it's unlikely the Mets beat out the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres for one of those spots, so they'll need to make up some ground in the division if they have any hope of making the playoffs this year.
In addition to the offense, the Mets have struggled with injuries on the mound. Jacob deGrom and David Peterson are currently sidelined, and Carlos Carrasco missed much of the season while recovering from an injury.
If things are to come together for New York, it starts with getting the offense rolling and players healthy.
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