The New York Mets entered the weekend in the midst of a seven-game slide looking to avoid a third straight series loss.

After a hot start to the year, the Mets pitching staff has been the root of the team’s downfall as New York has fallen all the way to the final NL wild card spot with the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds looking to knock them out of playoff contention.

As a result of injuries along with underperformance, New York has called up a trio of young prospects in the second half and instantly inserted them into the rotation with lofty expectations.

Carlos Mendoza Pulls Rookie Brandon Sproat Early, Bullpen Collapses

Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers, the most recently called up prospect Brandon Sproat was slated to make his second start in the big leagues and attempt to stop the bleeding.

The 24-year-old was excellent in his first start at Citi Field, looking every bit ready, and tossing six scoreless innings with three strikeouts, and entering the seventh inning with a 2-0 lead.

However, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza decided to pull Sproat from the game early at just 70 pitches and not give him the opportunity. Instead, he turned to the bullpen who promptly blew the lead. Sproat unfortunately will have to settle for a no decision as he remains in search of his first MLB win.

To make matters worse, Mendoza’s move to the bullpen early also led to All-Star closing pitcher Edwin Diaz entering an inning early, and he ended up allowing the game-winning run to cross in the top of ninth inning as the Mets fell 3-2.

Mendoza Under Fire as Mets’ Slide Hits Worst Mark Since 2018

Mets fans were quick to criticize Mendoza on X as the team suffered an eighth straight loss (worst losing streak since 2018), calling for him to be removed from his managerial role.

“@StevenACohen2 fire Mendoza please, fire Mendoza please, fire Mendoza please , fire Mendoza please , fire Mendoza please,” said a fan.

Another added, “The Mets gotta fire Mendoza, @StevenACohen2 enough is enough. That was so poorly managed today.”

“8 in a row and out of a playoff spot. Fire Mendoza tonight,” wrote one more.

“Fire Mendoza lol. He has no clue what he’s doing,” said another.

One fan said, “Mendoza is literally the worst manager in Mets history. 3 separate 7 game losing streaks. Last Mets team to do that lost 95 games. Blowing a playoff spot. Blown lead every night. From in first in division to 12 games out in 2 months.”

Although Mets fans have every right to be upset with Mendoza’s move that backfired, especially after Sproat threw 88 pitches a week ago in his debut, the reasoning behind the unexpected decision was revealed postgame.

“Carlos Mendoza said he removed Brandon Sproat after six innings and 70 pitches today because Sproat was experiencing a velocity drop. Mendoza did not want to push the rookie under those circumstances,” wrote MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

Typically younger pitchers are on innings limits and Sproat has already thrown 121 innings for the Mets Triple-A affiliate team, which is the most out of his professional career throughout college and the minor leagues. Mendoza’s move was solely to protect his young arm, even though it costed the team.