Mets complete epic collapse as loss to Marlins ends maddening season

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Mets complete epic collapse as loss to Marlins ends maddening season — even as Reds lose

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Francisco Lindor #12 of the New York Mets embraces Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets after Alonso lines out ending the fifth inning, Image 2 shows Carlos Mendoza in a New York Mets uniform reacting in the dugout, Image 3 shows Juan Soto reacts after striking out against the Marlins

Mike Puma · NY Post Sports

Sun, Sep 28, 2025 ·

5 min read

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MIAMI — Team owner Steve Cohen certainly could have found a better use for the $340 million in payroll he sunk into this disaster.

The Mets were removed from their misery Sunday, ending a nosedive that began in June and accelerated over these final weeks of the regular season, losing 4-0 to the Marlins at loanDepot park to finish a victory short of the postseason.

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Only adding to the hurt, the Reds lost 4-2 to the Brewers . A Mets victory in this regular-season finale would have catapulted them into the playoffs.

A team constructed to compete for the World Series won't be participating in the postseason after failing to clinch the NL's third wild card. That spot went to the Reds, who received the invite based on the tiebreaker of winning the season series against the Mets.

"This was a team that was built not only to get into October, but to play deep into October," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "We're pissed, sad, frustrated."

The Mets went meekly, finishing 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position with 10 runners left on base.

Francisco Lindor of the Mets greets Pete Alonso after Alonso lines out with the bases loaded, ending the fifth inning against the Marlins.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Mendoza went with a bullpen game — starter Sean Manaea pitched only 1 ²/₃ innings — and saw his team fall into a four-run deficit in the fourth inning from which it never recovered.

Juan Soto , who completed the first year of his record $765 million contract, was asked what has to change next season.

Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets reacts in the dugout during the fourth inning against the MarlinsCharles Wenzelberg/New York Post

"We have everything we need," Soto said. "I say we have just got to win games. That's the only thing that has got to change — win games."

The Mets, who spent 83 days in first place in the NL East, went 38-55 from June 13 through the end of the season. It was a second half marred mostly by awful starting pitching. The main culprits were Kodai Senga , David Peterson and Manaea, all of whom cratered — Senga spent most of the regular season's final month in the minor leagues attempting to remedy his woes.

Juan Soto reacts after striking out against the Marlins. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

"You look around, there was talent but we were very inconsistent," Mendoza said. "We had a hard time putting everything together. But it's hard to blame one specific area."

It was a Mets collapse that included a 7-14 finish, allowing the Reds to rally for the wild-card berth. The Mets led the Reds by six games after winning Sept. 5 in Cincinnati , but the Reds went 13-8 over the final stretch as the Mets sputtered.

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"It just shows you the value of what one game means over the course of 162 games," Pete Alonso said. "There were quite a handful of opportunities throughout the year that stand out in my mind. It's not just today."

This collapse was reminiscent of nosedives that kept the Mets from reaching the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, both seasons ending with final-day losses to the Marlins.

"It's just sadness — it doesn't feel good," Brandon Nimmo said. "I don't know that it's a surprise because you knew it was a possibility, the outcome today. I'm sure everyone in this room has probably had a goal that they have set, that they haven't reached, it never feels good, but it can fuel you to be better."

Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) breaks his bat after striking out against the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning at loanDepot Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ryne Stanek #55 of the New York Mets reacts after allowing a run to score during the fourth inning. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

On this day, Manaea faced six batters in his start and retired four. He was removed in the second inning after consecutive walks to Connor Norby and Eric Wagaman before Huascar Brazobán was summoned to get the final out in the inning.

The lefty Manaea, who missed the first half of the season rehabbing from an oblique strain and had further complications with a loose body in his pitching elbow, finished with a 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances after returning to the Mets on a three-year contract worth $75 million.

The Marlins jumped on a merry-go-round of relievers in the fourth inning to place the Mets in a 4-0 hole. Wagaman doubled against Ryne Stanek to drive in a run charged to Brooks Raley before Brian Navaretto's double scored a second run. Tyler Rogers surrendered an RBI triple to Javier Sanoja before Xavier Edwards brought in the inning's fourth run with a single.

The Mets loaded the bases in the fifth on three walks before Alonso hit a shot to left at 115.9 mph — the hardest ball any Mets player has hit all season — that was caught by Sanoja for the final out. Sanoja celebrated with a dance in the outfield.

"It's the hardest ball I hit all year and it split the gap and he tracked it down," Alonso said.

The Mets react in the dugout during their loss to the Marlins on Sunday. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Edwin Díaz , who began warming up in the bullpen in the fourth, entered to start the fifth and pitched two scoreless innings to stabilize the situation, but the Mets never got rolling.

Their last gasp was in the eighth, when Alonso singled and Vientos walked before Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez struck out in succession.

"Unfortunately, we didn't do quite enough," Nimmo said. "And we fell one game short."

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