The New York Mets dropped another critical September contest, falling 1-0 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night. Afterward, manager Carlos Mendoza expressed frustration, citing the Mets offense struggles as the defining issue of their 2025 season.
The loss marked the Mets’ third straight defeat, widening the Phillies’ lead in the NL East to eight games. Now sitting at 76–68, New York still holds the third Wild Card spot but is only 3.5 games ahead of the Reds and Giants with 18 left to play. In an article written by SNYtv’s Garrett Stepien, Mendoza’s postgame comments were captured as he openly addressed the inconsistency.
“Look, we’ve been pretty inconsistent,” Mendoza said. “We put ourselves in this position, which we’re still right there.”
The Mets vs Phillies matchup was defined by strong pitching. Aaron Nola delivered six shutout innings with seven strikeouts for Philly, while rookie sensation Nolan McLean allowed just one run across 5.1 innings in a tough-luck loss. Philadelphia's lone run came on a Nick Castellanos RBI single in the second inning.
New York’s best chance came in the ninth when Pete Alonso singled and Mark Vientos doubled to put two runners in scoring position. But Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez struck out to end the rally. The Mets manager pointed to that sequence as emblematic of the team’s struggles.
“I think it’s just having a hard time putting everything together for quite a bit,” Mendoza said. “Whether it was the starting pitching or runners in scoring position offensively, we haven’t been able to play good defense at times.”
The Mets Wild Card race remains tight, and another shutout loss only added to the concerns about their offense. Alonso was the lone bright spot, going 2-for-4 with a double, while the rest of the lineup faltered.
“So, I feel like we haven’t done that consistently and here we are,” Mendoza added. “But continue to trust the guys, I know we have a lot of talent and we’re going to turn the page.”
With two games left in Philadelphia, the Mets’ playoff cushion is on the line. Mendoza’s challenge is clear — clean up the inconsistency or risk letting their postseason hopes slip away.
