Last Tuesday at Citi Field, the Mets had hit yet another low point in their season. Justin Verlander got booed off the field, New York lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, and the scoreboard thought they were playing at Tropicana Field.
But then, something happened. A beast was awoken and the Amazins finally remembered how to win baseball games. It turned into five straight victories against the Rays and Cleveland Guardians, getting their season-long record back over .500.
After Monday’s breather in Chicago, the Mets began a three-game set against the Cubs. Unfortunately, it was more of the same old bologna we were fed up with seeing before that win streak. Tylor Megill gave up four runs in the second inning and couldn’t get through four before giving way to the bullpen. The offense scored some runs and had plenty of runners on base but consistently couldn’t cash in.
That led to a frustrating 7-2 loss at Wrigley Field. Don’t get us wrong — the season is far from over. Even with how badly the Mets have played so far in 2023, they’re still 25-24 and only 4.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
Even if that feels like a miracle, it’s true. There’s a whole lotta ballgame left to play. But maybe those games shouldn’t be played on Tuesdays anymore. New York’s series-opening loss in Chicago dropped them to 0-7 on Tuesdays in 2023. The team’s struggles during this part of the week expand beyond this season, too:
The Mets are 7-20 on Tuesdays dating back to May 24, 2022.
They haven’t won on a Tuesday yet in 2023.
— Patrick (@patrickrglynn) May 24, 2023
That’s the definition of “Not great, Bob.” They’re the only MLB team without a win on Tuesday this year. The Guardians are 1-8, while the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics are both 2-6. And if you’re wondering whether they won on a Tuesday during Spring Training, the answer is no. The closest they came was a 5-5 tie with the Houston Astros on Tuesday, March 7th.
There’s an easy solution here. Find every possible excuse to not play on Tuesdays. That will be tough since it’s not a typical rest day for MLB teams. The only time the Mets won’t play on Tuesday the rest of this year is July 11th, which is when the All-Star Game will be taking place in Seattle.
So, I guess we just need to buckle up and hold onto our butts every time Tuesday rolls around. Or maybe we can get USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale on the case to reverse the curse for us.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
