Carlos Mendoza assigns blame as Mets' playoff hopes dwindle

The stunning freefall of the 2025 New York Mets continued when they dropped their sixth contest in a row via a 6-4 loss at the rival Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night to wrap up a four-game sweep.

Following the Mets' latest disappointing result, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed that he knows who is to blame for all that has gone wrong for the club over the past three months. 

Carlos Mendoza takes responsibility for New York Mets' woes

"I’m responsible. I’m the manager," Mendoza directly said after the defeat, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. "It’s my job to get these guys going, and I will. I have a lot of confidence in myself, my coaches and the players. It’s not easy right now. We are all frustrated, but we still got an opportunity here to achieve our goal."

Thursday's game was no ordinary loss for the Mets, as they jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead against ace Jesus Luzardo. Phillies pitchers then shockingly retired 25 straight Mets batters as a lineup featuring stars such as Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso seemingly went to sleep. 

"Whether you’re up four, down four, at the end of the day, you didn’t get the job done," Mendoza remarked. "Frustrating, but nothing we can do about it now. We have to get back at it [Friday], go back home and win some baseball games."

There's no indication the 2025 Mets can win with any consistency through the end of the month. The StatMuse website shows they have now gone 31-47 in their last 78 games since they ended June 12 at 45-24. On Friday night, the Mets will host a homecoming when Texas Rangers starter Jacob deGrom takes the Citi Field bump as a visitor for the first time. 

Carlos Mendoza remains upbeat about New York Mets' playoff chances

"As bad as it looks right now, as bad as it’s been, we’re still in control. But we got to play better, that’s the bottom line," Mendoza added during his comments. 

Mendoza technically is correct, as the Mets began Friday holding a 1.5-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds for the final National League wild-card playoff spot. That said, fans clamoring for the Mets to reconsider their stance regarding Mendoza's future may make their voices heard in Queens if deGrom mows his former team down on Friday night.