Ryan Helsley’s Struggles With Mets Continue

On Thursday, the Mets found another way to lose in heartbreaking fashion. Déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would say.

Kodai Senga didn’t quite complete six innings, but his 5 2/3 frames of two-run ball gave the Mets a real chance. For a rotation that’s been slowly deteriorating, it was good enough. This time, however, it was the bullpen that let it slip away.

It’s become a theme: when one part of the team delivers, another falters. On Wednesday, the bats exploded for six runs, only for the pitching to allow 11. Thursday’s collapse belonged to Trade Deadline acquisition Ryan Helsley.

“We haven’t been able to put everything together,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “Whenever we’re getting the offense, we’re not getting starting pitching. Today we got starting pitching, we got some timely hitting, but we couldn’t close it out.”

Helsley entered in the eighth of a 3-2 game and started by getting a routine flyout from Drake Baldwin. Then came the trouble: a walk to Marcell Ozuna, a hanging slider that Michael Harris II scorched into the gap at 107.6 mph, which tied the game, and a go-ahead RBI double from Ozzie Albies. He then retired Atlanta’s seven and eight hitters, stranding Albies on second.

Helsley’s eighth inning on Thursday is a case study in how elite stuff can be dwarfed by shaky command. His four-seamer still lit up the radar gun, averaging 99 mph and touching 102, but velocity alone wasn’t enough. He missed spots and left pitches in hittable zones. The slider that decided the game — Harris’s 107.6 mph double — came right down the middle. It’s a pitch Helsley typically buries below the knees, but here it flattened out, perfectly aligning with Harris’s swing plane.

Since joining the Mets from the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline, Helsley has struggled to replicate his past success. In six appearances with New York, he has just two scoreless outings. He has a 5.40 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in a Mets uniform. While his fastball velocity remains elite, peaking at 103.8 mph—the hardest ever thrown by a Met in the Statcast era—it has continued to be punished. Opposing hitters are now batting .408 against it, a slight increase from .406 with the Cardinals.

Prior to the trade, Helsley had been a solid closer for the Cardinals, locking down 21 saves with a 3.00 ERA. However, since transitioning to a setup role with the Mets, he has yet to find his rhythm.

When asked postgame about the adjustment to an eighth-inning role, Helsley admitted, “Trying to figure out that role and that routine to be ready when my name is called. I just haven’t been good.”

Mendoza also weighed in on his setup man’s struggles.

“Good hitters are gonna make him pay for [his mistakes]. We just got to get him to finish those pitches, especially the breaking ball. That way…he can use the fastball effectively.”

Helsley’s electric arm will remain an asset, but unless he can regain command and consistency, late-inning leads will remain fragile. The Mets’ season could hinge on how quickly Helsley and the backend of the bullpen as a whole can find their rhythm. Until then, each heartbreaking loss is a reminder that talent alone doesn’t win games, they also need to execute. (Shoutout to Tyler Rogers, who’s been executing just fine.)

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