June Gloom Hits Mets Hard

There’s no easy way to say it: June has not been kind to the Mets. After starting the month 9-2, the team took a sharp 180-degree turn, ending June by being swept by the Pirates in the most lopsided three-game sweep defeat in the team’s 64-year history. So, what exactly went wrong for this team in June? Let’s rip off the bandaid …

The Pitching

Entering June, Mets starters led the National League with a 2.89 team ERA. Between June 1 and June 12, the team had a 2.38 ERA between their starters. However, from June 13 until June 29, Met starters owned a collective team 6.22 ERA, worst in MLB.

Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, David Peterson and Clay Holmes were the team’s top five starters on paper heading into the season. However, when the Mets make a plan, god laughs, right?

Injuries have plagued the rotation, first and foremost. Senga departed the June 12 contest against the Nationals with a hamstring strain. Holmes, meanwhile, an essential first-time starter in years, is dealing with an innings limitation, which has led to him being pulled early from games he was dominating.

Manaea hasn’t appeared in a game for the Mets this year. Initially shut down with an oblique strain, he suffered another small setback in his recovery process when a “loose body” was found in his throwing elbow. He’s slated to make another rehab start this week, but it is something to monitor for the rest of the season.

Montas finally made his season debut in late June, first delivering five scoreless against the Braves but then blowing up against the Pirates. Montas struggled in all of his minor league rehab assignments, and his most recent June outing proved to be more of what those minor league outings showed (down fastball velocity).

Perhaps the most shocking turn has been David Peterson’s. The day before Senga injured his hamstring, the Mets’ lefty threw a complete-game shutout. Since then, as often is the case for pitchers who are pushed to innings they have never been in, he has shown evidence of fatigue. He tired in the eighth inning in his next start against the Braves, giving up three game-changing runs. He also had blow-up innings in his two subsequent starts, both of which he didn’t make it through five. The SNY broadcasters have pointed to him leaving his patented sinker up in the zone, which is a tell-tale sign of a pitcher getting more and more tired as the season goes on.

Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning all have contributed to the lopsided scores in June. While they had their shining moments early in the season, June gloom hit hard for all three. Megill, who has made a habit of showing his best in March and April, entered May with a 1.74 ERA. The Mets righty has made eight non-quality starts since and is now on the injured list with an elbow sprain.

Blackburn, who taxied between the bullpen and rotation, delivered a solid first start of the season but has been non-competitive since, giving up 17 runs in 13 2/3 innings.

The Mets’ biggest success story of 2025, Griffin Canning, had his ups and downs in June, but a ruptured Achilles has taken him out for the year.

Other parts of the team crumbled as well, leading to a 3-13 record in their last 16 games.

The Bullpen

Like the rotation, the bullpen ERA was second in the league, with a 2.87 ERA entering June. During their 9-2 run, the bullpen carried a 3.06 ERA, 14th best in the league. However, between June 13 and the end of the month, the bullpen owned a 6.59 ERA, the worst in the National League and second-worst in baseball.

The Mets’ bullpen, led by Huascar Brazobán and Reed Garrett, hasn’t been able to pick up the beleaguered rotation. Garrett has given up five runs in 3 2/3 innings after entering this stretch with an ERA under one and a possible All-Star spot in his future. Garrett gave up a crucial three-run double to Marcell Ozuna in the eighth inning of a series opener against the Braves that made this simple losing streak begin to turn into a season-changer. Garrett then followed that up by giving up four runs to the Phillies without recording an out in a tie game, also in the late innings.

Brazobán’s season turned a little bit earlier than that. On May 23, the Mets righty entered the night with a sub-one ERA, having just pitched 2.1 scoreless innings two days earlier. Because the Mets were held scoreless in three straight extra innings with the free runner on second base (more on the RISP issues later), Carlos Mendoza was forced to go Brazobán in the 13th inning. Since taking the mound that game, he has given up 17 runs in 12 1/3 innings.

The bullpen, taxed and overworked, has been a revolving door of new faces on the daily as well. Because Met starters haven’t been able to go deep into games, the team hasn’t been able to stabilize the bullpen and solidify their arms.

While the pitching staff has stumbled, we can only be fair and say it’s done more than its fair share this season overall. The offense has been a disappointment throughout.

The Offense

The issue of runners in scoring position with the Mets is brought up at least six times a season. As of June 30, the Mets are second-worst with RISP in MLB, hitting a measly .217/.310/.377. Only the White Sox are worse.

While players like Juan Soto have been scorching hot this June, others have not.

The team’s younger contingent, including the likes of Francisco Alvarez, Luisangel Acuña, Brett Baty, Mark Vientosand Ronny Mauricio were all candidates to take steps forward in their maturation as big leaguers and become a force in the bottom half of the lineup. In 2025, Baty, Mauricio, Alvarez, Vientos and Acuña have respective OPS+ of 100, 96, 89, 89 and 68. All in all, the gap of 207 OPS points between the top four in the lineup and the bottom five was the largest in the majors as of June 24. In addition, all five have seen time in the minors this season.

The advanced metrics don’t look pretty. Vientos’ Baseball Savant page is a sea of blue, especially compared to 2024. He ranks in the 22nd percentile in batting run value at negative five. His xwOBA, xBA and xSLG are in the 12th, 13th and 19th percentile, respectively (.288, .227, .363). Both Vientos and Alvarez have seen their poor play translate to the field as well. Vientos, who was never a defensive whiz, ranks in the sixth percentile at Fielding Run Value, at negative six. Alvarez, who ranked in the 88th percentile in framing in 2024, has had a precipitous drop to the seventh percentile.

That said, the team had been surviving early on, thriving, even with the youngsters struggling. There is, however, one Met whose success seems endlessly correlated with the team’s.

Francisco Lindor broke his toe after being hit by a pitch on June 4. The Mets’ shortstop came into that day, slashing .284/.356/.498. Those numbers are down to .258/.327/.447. And as Lindor has struggled, so has the offense. In the past 16 games, the team has averaged just over three runs a game. And considering many of those games have been blowouts, in which opposing teams are more likely to pitch their less-heralded relievers late in games who are also pitching to contact, it stands out even more.

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