The New York Mets arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday to open a three-game series against the Angels, carrying a 10-21 record into another western swing. The Angels came in at 12-20, which meant the matchup between mets vs angels was less about standings position than about which struggling club could steady itself first.
For the Mets, this trip comes with the weight of one of the three worst starts to a season in franchise history. They were supposed to be a playoff contender, but instead they have spent April and early May trying to keep the season from slipping away. Kodai Senga is on the Injured List, David Peterson had a dreadful start in his first outing in weeks, and the club’s bullpen and offense have both been part of the problem.
Christian Scott was scheduled to start the first game of the series, giving New York another chance to get a look at a young arm while trying to end the skid. Scott, who had been quite good in Triple-A this season, walked five batters in one and a third innings in his first outing of the season. The Mets need more than better pitching to climb back into the picture, but they need it badly because the current version of the roster has not been able to cover for the mistakes in front of it.
The Angels bring their own slump into the series. They had lost six straight games and 10 of their last 11, a stretch that has left them looking every bit like the bad ball club described by those around them. They are also missing José Soriano, their best pitcher, which makes it harder to see a clean path out of the mess. That leaves this meeting to be decided by two teams with similar records and different kinds of pressure, each trying to prove that the next game can look more like a turning point than another step down.
For the Mets, the larger question is no longer whether this was supposed to be a contender’s start. It is whether a club already sitting at 10-21 can find enough stability on the road to stop a season that is already tracking toward one of the most disappointing in franchise history.