Mets Swept By Pirates, Terrible Run Continues Since National Anthem, Pride Flag Controversy
Many people know by now, but in case you don't, the New York Mets faced backlash after displaying a pride flag on the Citi Field Stadium video board during the U.S. National Anthem on June 13. The Mets hosted the Tampa Bay Rays that night and entered the game at 45-24 on the season.
Furthermore, the Mets entered that Friday night game against Tampa Bay on a six-game winning streak after sweeping both the Rockies and Nationals.
The team designated June 13 as "Pride Night" and gave away "pride tank tops" to fans in attendance. That's when things started to unravel for the lesser of the two MLB teams located in New York City.
Since the New York Mets displayed a pride flag during the U.S. National Anthem on June 13, the team has gone 3-13 following a blistering 45-24 start.
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They went on to lose to the Rays on Friday night, again Saturday, and the Rays completed the sweep Sunday. But it got worse! The Braves promptly swept the Mets in the proceeding series.
Just a coincidence, surely, right? Well… New York would go on to lose 10 of its next 11 games following the disastrous "Pride Night" decision.
They finally won back-to-back games against the Braves heading into this weekend, taking them to 3-10 since "Pride Night." It appeared they might be ready to put the mistake in the rearview mirror and turn things around, especially since they had a three-game weekend set coming against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.
As if facing the 32–50 Pirates wasn't good enough news, the Mets managed to avoid Paul Skenes because he pitched against the Brewers on Thursday. Things set up perfectly for the Mets.
But "Pride Month" lasts all of June and there's definitely no team happier to see it end than the New York Mets. The Pirates blew out the Mets on Friday, 9-1, and did it again Saturday, 9-2. Keep in mind, this was a Pirates team entering the weekend second-to-last in the MLB in runs scored. They averaged 3.3 runs per game prior to the Mets series.
Following Saturday's debacle, players held a team meeting to talk about what they needed to do to turn things around.
Well, it didn't work. The Pirates, for the third straight game, stomped the Mets into the ground. And it started early with Pittsburgh scoring five runs in the first inning en route to a 12-1 victory.
The Pirates had scored at least nine runs in a game five times over their first 82 games before doing it in three consecutive games against the Mets. There's no other way to describe New York's weekend other than "disastrous."
They were swept by the Pirates and outscored by 26 runs in the process. Does that have anything to do with "Pride Night"? Probably not, but who's to say? It's an awfully interesting coincidence that their worst stretch of the season – by far – came immediately following that night.
Luckily for the Mets, they are off tomorrow. That means their next game comes in July, after the end of "Pride Month." Could that change their fortunes? They certainly better hope that's the case.