The New York Mets currently have a 7-15 record and have lost 11 consecutive games. After an opening series that started positively against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the club fell apart. Now, according to one writer, the next ten days could ultimately define the 2026 season for the organization’s playoff hopes this year. Tim Britton of The Athletic believes the upcoming homestand will ultimately decide if the 2026 Mets will find a way or crumble.
“That 7-15 start — thanks to the Mets’ being decent in their first 11-game sample of the season — does not put them too far out. Teams have won divisions with starts this bad. A team has won the World Series with a start multiple games worse than this.”
The club is not quite walking the proverbial plank. However, with the team batting .226, what hope does that cultivate? Moreover, the team’s stunning lack of power hampers it. With 16 home runs and a .336 slugging percentage, New York cannot hit consistently or with any power, gap or otherwise. In essence, a lineup crafted to hit doubles and a few home runs cannot do either with any semblance of authority.
@Mets HOT and COLD players going into the series against the @Twins https://t.co/BNN5BTVkaL pic.twitter.com/x0Q3BJF6qQ
— Paul Greco (@PaulGreco) April 20, 2026
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The Nine Games That Define a Season
In the three games against the Minnesota Twins, the Mets will see Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes take the hill. McLean, with a 2.13 earned run average, is arguably the best starter on the staff at this point. Once again, the Mets need to rely on McLean to be the stopper. Working in their favor, McLean has the ability to generate outs with six different pitches.
Granted, many believe that the right-hander reaches back and serves up unhittable fastballs. Yet, that is nowhere close to the truth, and you need to add nuance. First, McLean’s changeup, according to Baseball Savant, generates swings and misses 42.1% of the time. In all honesty, McLean cannot rely on run support. The Mets have scored just 71 runs in 22 games. Only the Kansas City Royals plated fewer runs with 71.
The Mets next 9 games (all home):
3 vs Twins
3 vs Rockies
3 vs NationalsI understand how early it is, but I think it’s borderline safe to say anything worse than 5-4 all but ensures this season is cooked
What’s their record going to be? pic.twitter.com/7R8amwgpB2
— Unbiased Mets Fan (@TheMetsX) April 20, 2026
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Kicking A Team When They’re Down
The Twins head to Queens on the back of a four-game losing streak, including a weekend sweep against the Cincinnati Reds. Minnesota, from a statistical standpoint, is an average team across the board that goes deeper than its 11-11 record. They do only one thing particularly well, and it could become a determining factor: they find a way to get on base.
The Twins sit third in the American League with a .332 on-base percentage. Also, they make the baserunners count, leading the American League with eight sacrifice flies. Derek Shelton, in his first year in the Twin Cities, embraced small ball in the era of the long ball.
Carlos Mendoza says the Mets did not consider intentionally walking Nico Hoerner in the 10th inning:
“In that situation, especially with Hoerner, you put him at first base, they’re going to take second base there. You know there’s a contact situation there but then they got some… pic.twitter.com/fCX1KjJJMp
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2026
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Fan Backlash and Media Pressure to Force Change?
7-15 for a team that spends in excess of $300 million in payroll is not getting it done for the fanbase. As a result, the booing will reach nuclear levels if the Mets do not right the metaphorical ship. Postgame press conferences and navel-gazing do not move runners or win games. President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, to his credit, built a quality farm system.
However, where people can see, the major league product is failing to field a competent team. At the same time, owner Steve Cohen will not follow him, eating the remainder of his contract, despite calls to do so.
With that said, the next nine games become the most important to the Mets, as they can either get closer to .500 or completely collapse. No amount of manager anger will fix this.
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