The Mets were almost guaranteed a spot in the postseason and even expected to win a National League East title. After one hundred and one wins, New York was unable to secure either one.

Sunday night the Mets lost game three of the Wild Card series against the Padres 6-0. This was in great contrast to the night before when New York played a stellar game, beating the Padres 7-3 and keeping their season alive, just to let it all go that same week.

With this loss, and no ticket into the rest of the postseason, the franchise extended their World Series drought to thirty six seasons.

New York was unable to step up their game as pitcher Joe Musgrove of San Diego who threw seven shutout innings. The Mets could not get more than one hit off of him.

Musgrove was pitching so well that Mets manager Buck Showalter ordered a check against him for illegal substances. After being cleared, it was a blow for the Mets as it became obvious that New York couldn’t step up to Musgrove’s level.

Because of Musgrove’s performance, the Mets were unable to showcase their offense, thus not getting any runs in the third game of the series. New York’s inconsistency over the course of this series against San Diego, including scoring eight runs with seven of them just in the second game, is what held the them back from securing a ticket into the Divisional Round.

Shifting focus towards Mets pitchers in game three, there is a stark comparison. Bassitt was one of them who had fallen short in two straight games. Against the Padres, he allowed three runs on three hits and allowed three walks over the course of four innings.

In the end, this was a disappointing finish for New York. They led the National League East for nearly all of the 2022 season. It was their worst game of the series which in turn led to their downfall during a season where they were predicted to go all the way.