Mets go quietly in season-ending loss to Padres in Wild Card Series Game 3
More than an hour after the Mets’ season ended, Brandon Nimmo stood by his locker, still in full uniform, not ready to take it off after what might have been his final game with the only organization he has ever known.
Seth Lugo, eyes wet and words unsteady, had taken photos on the field with his family, then played pool with some of the guys. David Peterson, yet to shower, went to chat with Jacob deGrom, who was dressed and about to leave. Francisco Lindor made his way through a procession of teammates for hugs and so longs.
When the Mets lost to the Padres, 6-0, in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Sunday night, the big empty boxes came out. It was time to pack. The suitcases that they hoped would be headed to Los Angeles for the next round of the playoffs instead got wheeled away for their separate trips home.
A season marked by months of promise — and so many wins — had come to an abrupt halt, leaving them with little to show for completing one of the best regular seasons in franchise history.
“It hurts. It really hurts,” Pete Alonso said. “It’s not just the losing. It’s the disbanding of the group. Because every single guy in this clubhouse is really awesome. It just sucks that you know it’s not going to be the same group next year.”
Nimmo said: “Nobody cares that we won 101 games. Just that we lost these two. It’s a somber mood in the clubhouse now.”
And Max Scherzer on his first season with the Mets: “This was a blast. Up until the last part.”
The last part was what made all this so stunning.
These Mets — who won 101 games, the second-most in franchise history, and who spent 176 of 184 days in first place — led the NL East as recently as a week and a half ago. Then they got swept by Atlanta, costing them the division title and putting them in this best-of-three first round. And then they lost two of three to the Padres — just as they did in San Diego in June and at Citi Field in July.
“There’s a reason that that happened,” Nimmo said. “They’re a good team, no question.”
Alonso, who had the Mets’ lone hit Sunday, added: “We just got flat-out beat.”
San Diego pitched, hit and fielded better, particularly Sunday. Joe Musgrove tossed seven innings and retired six of seven batters after manager Buck Showalter asked the umpires to check him for illegal sticky substances. Mets starter Chris Bassitt allowed three runs in four innings. The Mets didn’t have a baserunner until the fifth inning and finished with two.
In addition to failing on the field, the Mets failed to sell out their biggest game in several years. The announced attendance was 39,241.
Many started streaming for the exits after the final blow came in the top of the eighth, when Edwin Diaz faced Juan Soto with two outs and runners in scoring position in a game that still was within reach at 4-0. Soto bounced a two-run single to left and then, standing next to a stone-faced Alonso, pounded his chest at first base.
Both runs were charged to Mychal Givens, the only reliever the Mets added at the trade deadline.
“This sport is so gratifying and so many great things happen,” said Showalter, who has won one postseason series in 21 seasons as a major-league manager. “It’s just cruel too at times like this.”
Scherzer, the only regular player who has won a World Series, said he thought this team had the talent and personality to do the same.
“It’s not fun hugging guys goodbye. It’s just not fun,” he said. “This is a kick in the [groin]. You sacrifice everything in your life to be able to go out there, you push through every injury, guys are playing through injuries. We make so many sacrifices. All the training you do is for these moments, to get to the postseason, and it doesn’t work out. It’s the worst day of the year.”
One of their favorite cliches, about turning the page after a bad loss, no longer applied. They got to the end of the book.
“The only way to bounce back is hopefully get back to the postseason next year,” Alonso said. “But that’s a really long way away.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
