Mets narrowly fall short of first ninth inning comeback this year

The Mets almost accomplished something they haven't done all season.

Sep 20, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) walks back to the dugout after striking out to end the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

This unfathomable streak continued for the New York Mets on Saturday.

Despite rallying from a 3-0 deficit against the Washington Nationals by scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, followed by scoring the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning, New York dropped another frustrating game, 5-3 in 11 innings, to fall back to five games over .500 at 80-75.

What makes this loss for the Mets even more of a gut punch is that they're now an incredible 0-66 this season when trailing after eight innings. The Mets certainly had their chances in this game to break that streak, as after Juan Soto's game-tying hit in the ninth, an intentional walk issued to Pete Alonso to load the bases resulted in both Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte striking out, blowing a golden opportunity.

The Mets are now 0-66 when trailing after eight innings this season pic.twitter.com/42LFz2nj0f

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 20, 2025

And after both teams failed to score in the tenth, the difference maker in this game came during the top of the 11th inning off the bat of Daylen Lile, who hit an inside-the-park homer, scoring two runs for the Nationals and tying this series up at a game apiece.

DAYLEN LILE, INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER IN EXTRAS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QUmqYNemFQ

— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2025

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It has been a common theme for this Mets team all season, as they have been unable to recapture the late-inning magic they had last season during their incredible run and translate it into this year.

Defensive issues also plagued the Mets

This game also featured a couple of bad fielding errors by the Mets during the second inning, with Soto unable to cleanly come up with a ball in right field, resulting in Washington scoring their second run of the game (this was Soto's first error all season). Pete Alonso once again failed to throw the ball over cleanly to first base with the pitcher covering and Saturday's starter, Nolan McLean, uncorked a wild pitch in the second inning, which brought home the second run of the inning for the Nationals, putting the Amazins' in a 3-0 hole.

With just seven games left in the regular season and the Mets still holding a narrow lead for the final Wild Card spot in the National League, manager Carlos Mendoza understands the margin of error is low.

"We've been inconsistent," Mendoza said to reporters following Saturday's loss. "We go through stretches where we make plays, we play clean, and then we've been through stretches where that happens."

"We've been inconsistent. We go through stretches where we make plays, we play clean, and then we've been through stretches where that happens."

Carlos Mendoza talks about how concerning the Mets' errors are at this point in the season: pic.twitter.com/MsPj2hMtMM

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

The Mets will now get ready to play in their final home game on Sunday against the Nationals, hoping to take two out of three against their division rivals before they embark on a six-game road trip to close out the regular season.