The future may look bright for the Mets, but the present continues to get more and more bleak.

The Mets got six scoreless innings from standout rookie Brandon Sproat on Saturday in his second career start, only for their bullpen to implode in a back-breaking 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Wyatt Langford’s ninth-inning RBI single against Edwin Diaz proved to be the game-winner at Citi Field, extending the Mets’ losing streak to a season-high eight games.

The loss dropped the Mets (76-73) percentage points behind the San Francisco Giants for the third and final National League wild card spot, though the Giants were yet to play Saturday when the Mets’ game ended.

“We’re definitely trying to figure out what is going on,” said Juan Soto, who struck his 40th home run of the season on Saturday.

“We’re playing our ass off every night. Things are just not going our way. We have the best closer in baseball, and he just made one mistake and they make him pay. It’s just crazy how the game’s been going, but we’re just gonna keep grinding, keep moving forward. There’s no excuses.”

Soto’s seventh-inning solo home run put the Mets up, 2-0, but the game unraveled in the eighth.

Josh Smith reached on a catcher’s interference by Francisco Alvarez to lead off the inning against reliever Tyler Rogers, and he later scored on a Joc Pederson sacrifice fly that made it a 2-1 game.

“We didn’t have the awareness there, and it cost us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Alvarez’s miscue.

Texas then tied the game when Diaz, seeking a four-out save, gave up an RBI ground-rule double to pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez.

The ninth started in similarly ominous fashion, as shortstop Francisco Lindor was unable to catch a Cody Freeman line drive that glanced off of his glove.

“I should’ve caught it, 100%,” Lindor said. “That ball should be caught.”

That turned into the go-ahead run, which scored when Langford lined an 0-1 fastball from Diaz into center field with two outs.

“Fundamentally, we’re not playing good baseball right now,” Mendoza said. “We gave them extra bases, and they made us pay.”

It was only the third blown save of the season by Diaz, who took the loss to fall to 6-3.

“I didn’t make pitches,” Diaz said. “I was struggling to go ahead in the count with Tellez, and he just hit it to the right spot, so the game was tied there. And then in the ninth, I didn’t make the pitches in the right situation.”

Offensively, the Mets went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Brandon Nimmo struck out against Shawn Armstrong to end the game, stranding the tying run at third.

All of that squandered a stellar start by Sproat, who recorded three strikeouts, did not issue a walk and demonstrated veteran-like poise as he worked out of multiple jams.

Pitching for the first time at Citi Field, the 24-year-old deployed a six-pitch mix that included a mid-90s sinker and a swing-and-miss sweeper. He induced eight groundouts and threw 53 of his 70 pitches for strikes.

Sproat wanted to return for the seventh inning, but Mendoza opted to remove him after observing a notable velocity dip during the sixth.

“We’re talking about five, six miles per hour there, from 97, 98 to 93, and there were hard-hit balls there,” Mendoza said. “He got through that inning, and I checked with him, ‘Physically, are you fine?’ And he’s like, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I’m gonna go to the bullpen here.’”

Sproat also told reporters that he felt fine physically, saying twice, “I’m good.”

The right-hander is one of three touted rookie Mets starters to surge the majors in recent weeks, inspiring optimism for the present and future.

Far less encouraging, however, is the Mets’ 31-49 record since June 12, a stretch that’s included three separate losing streaks of at least seven games.

Saturday’s loss was Mets’ eighth in a game that led after seven innings.

The Mets held a four-game lead for the final wild spot as recently as Sept. 5, which is the last day they won. They entered Saturday with a half-game lead over the Giants and a 1.5-game advantage over the Cincinnati Reds, who also had not started play by the time the Mets’ game ended.

“We’ve still got an opportunity,” Mendoza said. “You’ve still got to believe, but we’ve got to get going.”

Originally Published: September 13, 2025 at 7:38 PM EDT