PITTSBURGH — From deciding to meet to dead meat, the Mets’ weekend by the Three Rivers couldn’t have proceeded much worse. 

Rule No. 1 for players only meetings is generally to hold them a night before your ace is scheduled to pitch.

But the Mets barely have five pitchers to fill out a starting rotation these days, never mind an ace. 

So, it was on Frankie Montas’ right arm Sunday to help turn the previous night’s open forum among players into something positive. 

Montas flopped and the lineup was unresponsive, leaving the Mets floating face down in the Allegheny in a 12-1 loss at PNC Park that completed the Pirates’ three-game sweep. 

The Mets, who lost for the 13th time in 16 games, were outscored by an embarrassing 30-4 in losing three games to the NL Central’s basement-dwellers — a team that began the weekend on pace for 100 losses. 

The Pirates’ Tommy Pham, center, rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Mets pitcher Frankie Montas, left, during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh on June 29, 2025. AP

“We’re all frustrated,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re better than that and they know that. It’s a tough stretch and we have got to be better and it starts with me. I continue to support the guys, but obviously we’re not happy about it.” 

Francisco Lindor, who took ownership Saturday for his recent uninspiring play, was again part of the problem.

The shortstop finished 0-for-4 and saw his OPS for June dip to .628. 

He was asked if the word “embarrassment” was appropriate for the team’s showing over the past three games. 

“There is a big league team on the other side,” Lindor said. “With that being said, there’s a sense of like, yeah, we’re frustrated. We’re not winning, but at the end of the day it’s just part of the adversity we’re dealing with right now. We’re going to stick together and continue to play hard and hopefully once we’re out of it we don’t go back to something like this.” 

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Jeff McNeil, who was among the roughly half-dozen players who spoke during Saturday’s meeting, compared this stretch to the Mets’ early doldrums last season.

The team, which fell 11 games below .500 on June 2, got rolling and ultimately advanced deep into the postseason. 

“We did play so well in the first two months of the season,” McNeil said, referring to this year’s 45-24 start before this recent free fall. “We played really well and got a nice lead and kind of gave that back, so we have got to find it again.” 

McNeil revealed some of what he told teammates during Saturday’s meeting. 

“Find a way to get stuff done,” McNeil said. “Look at what has been working and what hasn’t been and find those fields again. And talk to coaches, talk to players and figure out what you need to do to get better and help us win.” 

Mets first baseman Pete Alonso lies in the batter’s box after getting out of the way of a high inside pitch in the fourth inning against the Pirates on June 29, 2025. AP

Instead of a comfortable weekend following a rough stretch against NL East foes, the Mets’ weaknesses were further exposed.

On this day, the Pirates jumped on Montas — in his second start off the injured list — and scored five runs on four hits and a walk in the first inning. 

Montas’ undoing in the first inning occurred with two outs. After Ke’Bryan Hayes stroked a single for two runs, Oneil Cruz launched a two-run homer that placed the Mets in a 4-0 hole.

Juan Soto looks on from the Mets’ dugout during the seventh inning of a blowout loss to the Pirates on June 29, 2025. Getty Images

Tommy Pham followed with a homer, and by the time Montas recorded the third out, the Pirates had sent eight batters to the plate. 

Henry Davis and Adam Frazier delivered consecutive singles to begin the second, and Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly extended the Pirates lead to 6-0.

Montas was at 50 pitches as the inning concluded. 

After Richard Lovelady and Dedniel Núñez combined for three innings with four runs allowed, outfielder Travis Jankowski pitched the eighth and surrendered another two. 

Luis Torrens’ homer in the fifth got the Mets their only run. It was the second homer of the season for Torrens, who began the day with a microscopic .239 OPS for June. 

“Whether it’s the starting pitching, offense, whether it’s the bullpen or defense, we’re not playing well,” Mendoza said. “We’re better than that.”