3 Mets most to blame for NL Wild Card defeat to Padres

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 07: Max Scherzer #21 of the New York Mets reacts in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres during game one of the NL Wild Card Series at Citi Field on October 07, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

1 of 3

Mark Canha, New York Mets (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The New York Mets failed to pull through in their NL Wild Card series against the Padres at Citi Field and these players deserve the most of the blame.

After Game 1 of the NL Wild Card series between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres, it seemed like the latter might be ready to dominate after a 7-1 win. But Buck Showalter’s club responded in Game 2 with an offensive explosion of their own as they secured a 7-3 victory behind the Jacob deGrom start.

That led to a decisive Game 3 at Citi Field but the home team failed to show up to their own ballpark. Unable to find any offense against Joe Musgrove — something they tried to explain by accusing the pitcher of using a sticky substance on his ears — and with the Padres lighting up Chris Bassitt, the Mets had nothing going and, as a result, are going home after a loss in the NL Wild Card.

Considering that the Mets managed just one run combined in Games 1 and 3, you could certainly just blame the entirety of the offense for the series loss. But if we’re pointing specific fingers, fans can certainly find a few culprits who deserve the lion’s share of the blame for their disappointing postseason performance.

New York Mets: 3 players most to blame for NL Wild Card loss to Padres

3. Mark Canha

One of the more underrated moves that New York made in the offseason was bringing in veteran outfielder/utility player Mark Canha. He’d long been a solid bat and a player who could move around to a number of positions. And in the regular season, he lived up to that billing as he slashed .266/.367/.403 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI across 140 games played.

So while he wasn’t the most important bat for the Mets, he was a player that New York surely was hoping would offer some reliable contributions to the offense even before they struggled overall at the plate against San Diego.

Canha went out with barely a whimper, though. Sure, he drew two walks in the Game 2 victory when the offense actually decided to show up for the only time in the series, but he otherwise went 0-for-10 against the Padres with no RBI and just the one run scored in the team’s lone postseason victory.

Again, he was far from the most important bat in the New York lineup, but Canha was a player the team was hoping could contribute at least something. In the end, he failed to do even that, which is a big reason as to why the club came up short in the Wild Card series.

Home/New York Mets