It's been the norm for the Mets all year -- not taking advantage with runners in scoring position.
After going 1-for-10 in such situations on Monday, they are hitting .240 with men on second or third. Entering Monday, they had the eighth-worst batting average in that scenario.
That's why the Mets have only been able to win half of their one-run games this year (27-27).
“We probably could have won more games, one-run, for sure," manager Luis Rojas said after Monday's 4-3 walk-off loss to the Washington Nationals.
While it was Edwin Diaz who blew the save and earned the loss, Rojas feels the season would be a different story if the Mets were able to cash in on the opportunities they have created for themselves.
"We went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position today, and we had chances to score more runs, and it’d probably be a different game than 3-2 in the ninth. So I think that’s why most of those games weren’t probably won for the most part. The pitching has been responsible to keep us close. I know it’s a tough loss, and we’ll talk about that ninth inning and the walks and single there, but once again, 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, you just gotta finish. You gotta deliver. You gotta score the runs that you’re setting yourself up to score. It’s happened repeatedly for us this season."
Diaz did take the loss, and he said he wasn't able to command his fastball.
"Today, I didn’t command my pitches the way I want to… I gotta command the fastball better," he said.
It's not the first time Diaz has been in a rough stretch this year, but he was able to snap out of it for a while. Rojas expects more of the same, and Diaz's job as the closer is not in jeopardy.
"Singles are gonna happen. You are gonna miss a spot with one pitch. But the walks I thought, those are the things we saw in both outings that have hurt him.
“Edwin’s done it for us all year. We’re not making drastic changes. I think the command is something he can bounce back from. He had a little stretch in the middle of the season where he was struggling with his command a little bit, and then he bounced back and started throwing more strikes. This is the last two games where he’s done it. For sure, he can work on things like this."