CHICAGO \u2014 Now the Mets aren\u2019t doing anything right.<\/p>\n
A losing streak that for much of the last week was defined by the team\u2019s hitting woes has turned into overall stinky play. The Mets seemingly are getting worse.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Kodai Senga imploded, the defense leaked and the lineup was inefficient in an embarrassing 12-4 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field that gave the Mets a nine-game losing streak. The skid is the club\u2019s longest since 2004.<\/p>\n
It was a second straight loss in which the Mets surrendered at least eight runs. The clunker followed president of baseball operations David Stearns\u2019 pregame backing of manager Carlos Mendoza.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Mendy is doing a really good job,\u201d Stearns said before the first pitch. \u201cHe\u2019s putting our players in a position to succeed. He\u2019s enormously consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a second straight ugly performance Senga allowed seven runs, six earned, on six hits and three walks over 3 1\/3 innings. The right-hander was buried by two homers allowed.<\/p>\n
Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (34) leaves the mound after a pitching change during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, April 17, 2026, in Chicago. AP<\/p>\n
Brett Baty misplayed two grounders at first base \u2014 only one of which was ruled an error \u2014 to lead the defensive meltdown, giving the Cubs an unearned run in the fourth.<\/p>\n
The Mets had 14 hits, but only three went for extra bases.<\/p>\n
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Moises Ballesteros\u2019 opposite-field shot to left in the first inning inflicted much of the damage against Senga. The three-run homer gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead in an inning the Cubs sent seven batters to the plate.<\/p>\n
Michael Busch walked and Alex Bregman singled before Seiya Suzuki\u2019s single brought in the game\u2019s first run. Ballesteros followed by jumping on Senga\u2019s first-pitch cutter and clearing the ivy in left.<\/p>\n
The Mets broke out for three runs \u2013 matching their total over the previous four games \u2013 in the second inning. Marcus Semien stroked an RBI double following consecutive singles by Francisco Alvarez and MJ Melendez. After Brett Baty struck out, Tyrone Taylor hit a shot off the left field wall for a two-run single, on which he was thrown out trying to reach second following a fast carom to left fielder Ian Happ.<\/p>\n
Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs tags out Tyrone Taylor of the New York Mets attempts to reach second base during the second inning at Wrigley Field on April 17, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Senga surrendered a two-run homer to Nico Hoerner in the bottom of the inning that increased the Mets\u2019 deficit to 6-3. Senga walked Dansby Swanson before Hoerner blasted a 1-1 four-seamer over the left-field wall.<\/p>\n
Baty\u2019s rough inning at first base in the fourth allowed the Cubs to score an earned run and extend their lead to 7-3. First, Baty couldn\u2019t handle Busch\u2019s grounder that went for a single and loaded the bases. Happ\u2019s more routine grounder to Baty that should have ended the inning was booted for an error, yielding the run. Senga surrendered an infield single to Swanson that started the rally and was replaced by Huascar Brazoban, who allowed an infield single to Hoerner before the grounders to Baty.<\/p>\n
Senga has allowed 13 earned runs in his last two starts combined and was removed before the fifth inning in both.<\/p>\n
Carlos Mendoza stands stands in the dugout during the first inning. AP<\/p>\n
Matt Shaw smashed an RBI double against Sean Manea in the seventh that extended the Cubs\u2019 lead to 8-3. Suzuki\u2019s double started the rally.<\/p>\n
The Cubs scored twice against Manaea in the seventh. In the eighth, Happ blasted the Cubs\u2019 third homer of the game, a two-run shot that widened the deficit to 12-4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 Now the Mets aren\u2019t doing anything right. A losing streak that for much of the last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[26622,17705,30159,35579,20,9,11,320,10,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-201261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-carlos-mendoza","9":"tag-chicago-cubs","10":"tag-francisco-lindor","11":"tag-kodai-senga","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-headlines","15":"tag-new-york-mets","16":"tag-new-york-news","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}