On Tuesday night, the scoreboard at Citi Field showed Minnesota Twins 5, New York Mets 3. That last figure has all the information you need to understand this team’s current situation. The lead belonged to the Mets. They paid forty-five million dollars to acquire the closer.
They had a home crowd that showed up with the cautious optimism that Mets supporters have learned to carry—the kind that gets ready for disappointment but doesn’t completely believe it will happen. When Devin Williams got to the mound in the ninth inning, everything fell apart once more.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Team | New York Mets |
| Home Stadium | Citi Field, Flushing, Queens, New York |
| Most Recent Loss | Minnesota Twins 5, Mets 3 (April 21, 2026) |
| Current Losing Streak | 12 consecutive games |
| Manager | Carlos Mendoza |
| Closer in Crisis | Devin Williams (3-year, $45 million contract) |
| Williams Contract Value | $45 million over 3 years |
| Previous Closer | Edwin Diaz |
| Bright Spot | Rookie Nolan McLean (perfect innings pitched) |
| Next Scheduled Games | vs. Minnesota Twins (April 22–23); vs. Colorado Rockies (April 24–26) |
| Season Context | Promising early start reversed by historic collapse |
| Key Failure Moment | Devin Williams failed to retire a single batter in tied ninth inning |
Twelve straight defeats. If you watched the first few weeks of this season, when the Mets appeared to have finally put together enough pieces to remain competitive until September, it is hard to put that figure into perspective. A bullpen meltdown here, a lineup that goes cold there, a series of close games that just barely break the wrong way until the pattern becomes its own gravitational force, pulling everything into the same outcome regardless of how the first six innings appear, are all signs of a losing streak.
It’s difficult to say that Williams, who was outstanding before moving to New York, is the most obvious emblem of the fall. The outcome has been disastrous because the closer the Mets signed to replace Edwin Diaz is unable to find his secondary pitches in crucial situations.
He failed to retire a single batter in a tie game against the Twins on Tuesday. It wasn’t a squandered lead with little damage, but rather a clean failure from the first pitch in the exact place he was paid to handle. Some of what’s happening may be explained mechanically and psychologically, and once the media cycle starts in New York, it’s nearly impossible to separate the two.
It’s getting harder to watch manager Carlos Mendoza’s postgame news conferences—not because he says anything inappropriate, but because it’s obvious that his calmness costs something. The reporters in the room are taking notes on his responses as he talks about procedures, having faith in his players, and coming up with solutions.
They are also calculating in secret how long his tenure will last after such a long losing run. The pressure in a New York market during an April collapse is unlike anything else in the league, although managers are not fired as frequently as supporters would like during twelve-game skids.
The peculiar issue is that this team is capable of playing actual bits of proof. The presence of rookie Nolan McLean indicates that the organizational depth hasn’t completely dried up. McLean has been throwing flawlessly in his innings, displaying the kind of leisurely expertise that typically belongs to veterans. In several of these defeats, the offense has scored runs; rather than being shut out, they are being passed late, which is somewhat more difficult to correct because it calls for improving confidence and technique rather than just skill. Diagnosing a team that is shut out every night is easier.
The Rockies visit Citi Field following the conclusion of the Twins series, and Colorado has been among the National League’s weakest teams throughout the season, so the schedule provides some potential respite.
Whether or not that matters will depend on whether or not this clubhouse’s collective psyche has been affected by twelve losses, which manifests itself against any opponent, regardless of their record. Matchups and bad luck might be the cause of certain losing streaks. This one appears to be about something different—a squad that has lost faith in its ability to hold onto a lead and hasn’t yet produced the performance necessary to regain it.
Anyone who has followed the Mets through their cycles of hope and disappointment will recognize the feeling you get when you watch them right now. It’s the particular fear of a team with enough talent to exacerbate the suffering because you can see what should be happening and keep watching it not happen. Tonight is the next game against Minnesota. Either the streak will end or it won’t. And any result will reveal something about the true scope of this issue.
