Mets lose again, with bullpen at fault against Mariners - ESPN

NEW YORK — The Mets lost again Friday night, blowing two more leads and hearing more boos in an 11-9 defeat to the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field.

New York has dropped 14 of 16 games to fall six games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. The Mets are just a half-game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final NL wild-card spot.

«It's part of the mountain,» Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. «You got to climb the mountain, and right now, we're in a very steep part of it. And if we don't get ourselves together and we don't push ourselves to be better day in and day out, the mountain is going to be tough to climb.»

The Mets boasted the best record in baseball through June 12, a 45-24 mark that was three games better than everyone else in the NL and 5½ games ahead of the Phillies in the division. Since then, they are 19-34, the second-worst record in the majors over that stretch. Only the Washington Nationals, who fired their manager and general manager this season, have been worse — by just a half-game.

It's an unnerving scenario after last year's magical summer, which followed a dismal start to the season and ended with the Mets making an unexpected appearance in the NL Championship Series.

The Mets tasted defeat over the past two-plus months with a variety of recipes. If it's not a frigid offense, it's an implosion from the starting pitcher or a costly defensive miscue or a bullpen meltdown or a demoralizing blend of the ingredients. It has left the Mets wondering why they can't put together enough complete games to resemble the team from the season's first two-plus months.

«It's tough,» Lindor said. «We have all asked that question, and it's tough to point out one thing.