Just when it looked like the Mets were moving on from their 12-game losing streak and getting ready to make a serious run at the Postseason, they went and got swept by the Colorado Rockies, sinking to 9-19 for the season. Following two straight win over the Twins on Wednesday night and Thursday night, the Mets were big favorites against Colorado in the series opener on Friday, but couldn’t take advantage due to three ground-ball double plays and staff “ace” Freddie Peralta crumbling in the fifth and sixth innings.

The first double play came in the bottom of the second after Brett Baty doubled and Mark Vientos hit and infield single to set up the Mets for a big inning. However, Marcus Semien ensured the Mets would only score once when he hit a one-hopper to Tyler Freeman at second base that gave the Rockies two outs for the price of one run and allowed Michael Lorenzen to work deep into the ballgame.

That would be the only New York run until the eighth inning, when the Mets would rally against Colorado reliever Jaden Hill. Ronnie Mauricio, Bo Bichette, and Francisco Alvarez all singled to load the bases with one out. Baty then came through with a base hit up the middle to drive in a pair and put the tying run in scoring position. Finally the Mets were stringing some clutch hits together in a game that they needed to have! Colorado changed pitchers to Antonio Senzatela and Citi Field was ready for one more big knock, but instead we got the most brutal double play of the evening. Mark Vientos ripped a line drive to the opposite field, but it went straight into Freeman’s glove, and he easily doubled pinch-runner Tommy Pham off second base to end the inning.

That was a tough way to lose a ballgame, but it was even tougher to watch the Mets’ offense during Sunday’s doubleheader. The first game was a great opportunity to get back on the winning track, with Nolan McLean on the mound and the lineup taking on former Mets southpaw Jose Quintana. New York loaded the bases with one out in the first, but failed to score because Semien and Baty struck out. The Mets wouldn’t reach base again until Tyrone Taylor homered to lead off the fifth inning and tie the score 1-1. Surely that was the spark we were waiting for, right?

Taylor’s home run was less of a spark and more of an aberration, as the Mets would not score again for the rest of the day, including all nine innings of the second game. After Colorado took the lead in the sixth thanks to an Edouard Julien leadoff double and Vientos throwing the ball into Mickey Moniak’s back on a potential double play ball (double plays only work out when the Mets hit into them), New York tried to rally in the eighth against Hill with Alvarez, Bichette, and Juan Soto all reaching base with one out. Once again, there was a big opportunity in the eighth inning to flip the miserable script, but once again, the Mets chose misery with Luis Robert Jr. flying out into foul territory and Vientos flailing away at an outside-corner slider for his second strikeout of the day.

The second game of the day didn’t go any better for the Mets. In fact, it went worse because this time New York put zero runs on the board. We found out quickly that zero wouldn’t not be enough because Kodai Senga continued to be a disaster on the mound. After a decent start to the campaign, Senga has now made three straight starts without competing the fourth inning. In this one, he allowed three hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch in the first three innings, and that includes a perfect first inning. Hunter Goodman’s two-run bomb in the third gave Colorado more than enough runs to win the game.

Meanwhile, the Mets were shut down by Chase Dollander, the right-handed pitcher who was chosen by the Rockies in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Dollander had never completed seven innings before in 21 major league starts, but he did just that against the Mets while allowing just five hits and two walks. The Mets had their best chance to break through in the fifth when Carson Benge and Mauricio both singled with nobody out, but Mauricio was easily doubled off first when Taylor hit a soft line drive to TJ Rumfield.

The Mets are now 9-19 and getting ready to start a series against the 13-16 Washington Nationals. Already two MLB teams have fired their managers, but the Mets are not one of them. Boston and Philadelphia are off to similar slow and very disappointing starts. As a result, both Alex Cora and Rob Thomson have lost their jobs even though Cora has won a World Series with the Red Sox and Thomson led his team to the NL pennant just four years ago. What has Mendoza won to earn such a long leash from the Mets? 2024 was a thrilling season, but Buck Showalter was let go just one year after leading the Mets to 101 wins and a Postseason berth. Mendoza has already been allowed to oversee the 2025 meltdown. Will he really be allowed to continue at the helm if the Mets continue to bust in 2026?

There’s also the matter of David Stearns, the president of baseball operations who was supposed to be the architect of the Mets’ resurgence, whiffing on every move he made this offseason. After a hot start, Robert Jr. has looked like the broken slugger that the White Sox traded away for the low, low price of Luisangel Acuna. However, Robert Jr. is still hitting better than Bo Bichette, who was brought in to easy the pain of Pete Alonso’s departure. Like Alonso last year, Bichette is on an opt-out deal that will allow him to bolt from the Mets the minute he finds some success.

Marcus Semien had a lot of success in Texas, but his offense dropped off the last two seasons, and this April he’s hitting even worse than he did then. Semien was brought in to form a great middle-infield defensive combination with Francisco Lindor, but their glovework hasn’t been good enough to make up for the abysmal offense. The worst acquisition has been Devin Williams, who has been a total gas can as the closer and has made me miss Edwin Diaz even though I thought I never would.

Some people have said that firing Mendoza or Stearns right now won’t do anything to help the Mets win more games. That might be true, but something has to be done to show the fans that the team’s performance in April is unacceptable. Maybe Steven Cohen is willing to ride out the season and give the team a chance to turn it around, but I have a feeling that the owner will be compelled to do something if attendance dwindles over the summer.

One game might not be enough to save Mendoza or Stearns from being fired at season’s end, but it would still be cool if the Mets stopped being the worst team in baseball. They can take a step tonight by beating the Nationals. Washington’s starting pitcher Zack Littell has allowed 14 combined runs over his last two starts against San Francisco and Atlanta. He’s someone that even a feeble offense can take advantage of. The Mets will be sending Clay Holmes and his 2.10 ERA to the bump. He has allowed fewer than three runs in all five starts this season.