Where Exactly Is Rock Bottom? Mets Still Searching After Ninth Straight Loss

Chicago Cubs 12, New York Mets 4 (Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL)

Mets Record: 7-13 Mets Streak: L9

Mets Last 10: 1-9 WP: Edward Cabrera (2-0) LP: Kodai Senga (0-3)

Seat On The Korner:

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Nico Hoerner went 3-for-5 with a homer and made some spectacular defensive plays for the Cubs.

Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Chicago Cubs' second baseman Nico Hoerner, who went 3-for 5 with a home run and two RBI in the 12-4 victory. Hoerner also made some nice defensive plays, including a diving stab to rob Bo Bichette of a base hit to end the fifth inning.

Need To Know:

• The Mets have lost nine games in a row for the first time since 2004, when their longest losing streak reached 11 games.

• Jorge Polanco missed another game as he now has added wrist soreness to his list of ailments. The Mets were awaiting results from an MRI on Polanco before deciding whether he needs a trip to the injured list.

• David Stearns indicated prior to the game that outfielder Juan Soto remains on track to return from the IL during the Mets' next home stand.

• Stearns also offered a vote of confidence to manager Carlos Mendoza, telling reporters that he feels Mendoza is putting his players in a position to succeed and that the players need to execute better.

• Mark Vientos snapped an 0-for-23 skid with a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning.

• Five different Mets (Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, MJ Melendez, Marcus Semien and Tyrone Taylor) collected two hits.

Turning Point:

The Mets did well to respond to the Cubs' four-run first inning by getting three back in the top of the second. Kodai Senga couldn't put up a zero, however, walking Dansby Swanson before putting a pitch on a tee for Hoerner to crush into the bleachers for a two-run homer. Even though that swing only made it 6-3 Cubs, it destroyed the Mets' psyche as they reverted back to extreme chase mode in order to try and make up the deficit.

Three Keys:

Kodai Senga Is Regressing:

Things have gone quite poorly over Senga's last two starts as he abandoned the fastball-heavy approach that worked in his first two. Senga has been trying to focus more on use of his cutter and ghost fork but has had trouble locating them, leading to walks and hard contact galore. Today's outing was a complete stink bomb as Senga gave up seven runs in 3.1 innings of work, appearing mystified that the ball was flying out of Wrigley Field on a windy afternoon. Mendoza refused to guarantee another start for Senga after the game, indicating that he was in line to make his next turn but that Monday's off day could change things. It is noteworthy that Sean Manaea, who pitched in long relief today, stretched out to a season-high 72 pitches over four innings of work.

Brett Baty's Struggles Are A Big Issue:

It was another rough afternoon for Baty, who went 0-for-2 to extend his hitless streak to 20 and booted a few key ground balls at first base. SNY's broadcast made note of the fact that Baty's chase rate is a whopping 40 percent, which is the exact opposite of what the team's hitting approach would want. While Baty did take ownership of his "terrible" performance after the game, the Mets would be well served to either sit him for a while or send him to AAA so he can work on improving his game away from the pressure cooker that Flushing has become.

On The Mets' Manager . . .

The heat continues to rise under Mendoza's seat as the Mets continue to play bad baseball. The Mets have been on a 107-loss pace since June 13th of 2025, the day their season flipped completely, going 45-68 over that stretch. Despite wide spread changes to the coaching staff and roster, the Mets have continued to play bad baseball and at some point it will catch up to Mendoza, fair or not. Stearns appears to have given his manager a bit more time, potentially hoping that Soto's return will light a fire under the group on their next home stand, but at some point you have to wonder when Steve Cohen will step in and demand a pound of flesh for this team's incredible underperformance.