WASHINGTON – It’s a total free fall. Terrible play, horrible pitching, flushed leads and what’s become utter humiliation.
The bewildering catastrophe continues for the Mets, as their season-ending collapse goes on.
One night after blowing a four-run lead to one of the worst teams in the league, the Mets easily topped it last night.
They blew three different four-run leads.
The plummeting Mets went down 9-8 to the Nationals, and they’ve now lost five games in a row. With only 12 to play, their NL East lead is down to 1 ½ games over the Phillies, who beat the Cardinals in 14 innings last night.
“If I told you I’m not worried,” said Moises Alou – who tweaked a quad in the loss, and had to be removed – “I’d be lying.”
After Monday’s loss, Shawn Green said, “It’s got to end tomorrow.”
Nope. It doesn’t.
But last night the disaster was severe enough for the Mets to address it in pregame. Clearly attempting to prevent what would be an historic, embarrassing and stunning meltdown, they held a pregame meeting.
The meeting was requested by players, according to manager Willie Randolph, who said he spoke to his team. Randolph refused to reveal what he said, but his message was essentially to concentrate and play hard.
Players also later spoke, including Alou, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Tom Glavine, Paul Lo Duca, Marlon Anderson and Pedro Martinez. The Mets hadn’t had a players meeting all year.
The Mets then went out and took a 4-0 first-inning lead and held edges of 5-1 in the third and 7-3 in the fifth. But John Maine blew all three of them, allowing more runs than he ever has in his career.
“You’ve got to pitch,” Randolph said.
Maine gave up eight runs in 41/3 innings, the capper a crushing three-run homer by Ronnie Belliard in the fifth that took a 7-5 Mets lead and made it an 8-7 Nationals one.
Washington ultimately took a 9-7 lead, and the Mets nearly rallied with three straight two-out ninth-inning singles. But with the tying run on third, Ruben Gotay struck out to end it.
“We’re taking steps in the right direction,” David Wright said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, we win this game.”
Added Randolph, “I think we’re closer to turning the corner.”
The Mets also lost their hottest hitter, as Alou left in the fifth with a tight left quad. The left fielder, who’s got a 22-game hitting streak and is batting .338, said he’ll be ready to play tonight.
Not only was Maine abominable, but Randolph made a blunder by giving him too long a leash in the fifth. Maine allowed a run in the second, another in the third and nearly blew the lead entirely in the fourth. Washington cut it to 5-3, and Justin Maxwell drove a two-out shot to the warning track, a shot Alou caught to end the inning.
Randolph said Maxwell’s drive “didn’t go out, so that’s OK,” noting that he wasn’t hesitant to send Maine out for the fifth. Considering the near-homer, however, Randolph probably should have had a short leash.
Maine allowed a leadoff single and a walk and, one out later, an RBI single trimmed the lead to 7-4. Austin Kearns’ RBI single cut it to 7-5 before Belliard drilled his three-run blast.
Randolph insisted, “This is not Armageddon to us.”
But perhaps it should be. No team has been up seven games with 17 to play and failed to win the division or league. But in 12 games, Armageddon may arrive.