CHICAGO — The losses are piling up for the New York Mets, and Francisco Lindor thinks the criticism surrounding the team is about to get very loud.
New York dropped its 11th consecutive game when closer Devin Williams blew a ninth-inning lead in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings Sunday. It’s the longest slide for the Mets since they lost 11 in a row from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 in 2004.
“Eleven losses, that’s a lot, whether it’s in April or any point of the season,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We have got to find a way.”
The Mets are off Monday before beginning a nine-game homestand with a series against the Minnesota Twins.
“It’s gonna get loud. It’s gonna get very loud,” Lindor said. “Everyone here knows it. We’ve got to stick together. And fight. Fight.”
It’s the longest April losing streak in Mets franchise history, and it’s the fastest New York has reached 15 losses since 1983.
“This feeling sucks,” Lindor said. “We’re professionals, and we have got to find a way to do whatever it takes to end up on top after 27 outs and sometimes 30 outs. It’s not a good feeling, but no one here is hanging their heads. Everybody has got their head up high, fighting for each other.”
Pinch hitter Michael Conforto tied it for Chicago in the ninth with an RBI double off Williams, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Mets in free agency.
“I’m really, really disappointed,” Williams said. “They gave me a lead. It’s my job to hold it, and I made a mistake. It cost us the game today.”
Nico Hoerner then hit a sacrifice fly off Craig Kimbrel in the 10th inning as the Cubs won their fifth straight.
Led by Lindor and Juan Soto, the Mets began the season with World Series aspirations. They had an Opening Day payroll of $352.2 million, tops in the majors.
Soto, who is expected to return at some point during the upcoming homestand, strained his right calf during a 10-3 victory at San Francisco on April 3 — the beginning of a four-game win streak that lifted New York to a 7-4 record.
That seems like a long time ago.
The Mets have been outscored 62-19 during their losing streak. They are batting .145 with runners in scoring position during the skid after going 0-for-9 in those situations in the series finale against the Cubs.
“We didn’t hit that many balls hard today,” Mendoza said. “So yeah, we’ve got to get better at-bats, for sure.”
The Mets became the first team to lose 11 or more games in a row in April since the 2022 Cincinnati Reds. The last 12-game slide for New York was in August 2002.
Only four teams have reached the postseason after going through a double-digit losing streak, including the Cleveland Guardians last year and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.
“I think it does compound as you continue to lose, but that’s for us to stop it and get ourselves going on the right track,” Mets pitcher David Peterson said.
Most of the noise Lindor mentioned likely will focus on Mendoza, who was hired in November 2023. But president of baseball operations David Stearns backed Mendoza on Friday, and Lindor offered a strident defense of his manager after Sunday’s loss.
“Mendy’s our guy. He’s our leader,” the All-Star shortstop said. “He’s in control, and he’s done a tremendous job. We just haven’t executed. It would be unfair to put everything on him because at the end of the day, he has gotten the ship in the right direction. The people that are paddling, we’ve got to paddle and execute.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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