April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nA lack of offense has been the primary culprit in the Mets\u2019 uneven 7-7 start. This isn\u2019t even the first 17-inning scoreless drought of the young season. Friday marked the third time in 14 games they\u2019ve been scoreless through nine innings; one of those games fortunately became a 4-2 win in extras. They have scored more than four runs in only four games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t score runs, it\u2019s hard to win,\u201d Francisco Lindor said.<\/p>\n
Friday was also the sixth straight game the Mets scored fewer runs than they did the game before. That streak will presumably end Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Mets\u2019 recent offensive woes have often been tied to difficulties with runners in scoring position. Even though New York has been hitless in that spot the last two days, its struggles are more comprehensive. Worse than going O-fer on back-to-back days in scoring situations is providing yourself with all of eight chances in that spot.<\/p>\n
The Mets put the leadoff man on base just once in nine innings Friday. All six of their hits were singles. Their best threat of the night \u2014 first and third, no outs in the sixth \u2014 was defused in four pitches with a tag play at third and a ground-ball double play.<\/p>\n
While credit is owed to opposing pitching staffs, the Mets were held down Friday by a replacement starter (J.T. Ginn, in his first start of the season for the Athletics) and a makeshift bullpen that got seven outs in a one-run game from a pitcher called up earlier in the day (Jack Perkins).<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys are working through a lot of things,\u201d said Lindor, who has been going through it at the plate. \u201cWe\u2019re not sitting back and waiting it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are excuses for this. Primarily, Juan Soto has been out of the lineup for a week, and the Mets\u2019 offense is not going to be as good without its best hitter. Though the offense initially thrived without Soto in San Francisco, that proved to be a mirage once home. With Jorge Polanco missing the last two games as well, the Mets have had Robert and Jared Young hit third \u2014 hardly the plan coming out of spring training.<\/p>\n
(President of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday the club is optimistic it will not be a long-term absence for Soto. The initial timetable provided by the team indicated Soto could be back for the start of the next homestand on April 21. A Thursday MRI on Polanco brought back good news in that he\u2019s dealing with bursitis in his heel, not something that would require a stint on the injured list.)<\/p>\n
And Stearns mentioned Friday that this is not necessarily a new story for the Mets.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach April I\u2019ve been here has been pretty similar, where we don\u2019t score as many runs as we\u2019d like and then the weather warms up and balls start flying out of the ballpark,\u201d Stearns said before the game. \u201cWe probably haven\u2019t scored quite as many runs as we\u2019d like, but that\u2019s a pretty talented position player group that\u2019s going to get going. We\u2019re going to score runs.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not wrong: Part of this is the reality of playing games early in the season at Citi Field. The Mets have 25 runs through seven home games. Last season, they scored 26 through the first seven; in 2024, it was 19.<\/p>\n
These are excuses all the same. The Mets aimed to build a lineup deep enough to withstand slumps or absences from its top hitters. The other team has to score at Citi Field in April, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoto is irreplaceable,\u201d Lindor said, \u201cbut guys understand we\u2019ve got to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite allowing a lone run in 5 1\/3 innings, Clay Holmes was the hard-luck loser Friday, in more ways than one. He departed the game in the sixth inning with tightness in his left hamstring but is optimistic that he should be able to make his next start, slated for Wednesday in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made the smart decision to not make it worse,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem too major. Hopefully, we can get it right in a couple days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mets hope their offense follows suit.<\/p>\n