The Mets seemed to be letting out some frustration from the past week on Tuesday night, with Luis Rojas getting ejected and Javy Baez needing to be restrained by teammates in the span of one inning.
Rojas, who was tossed in the seventh before Baez went after Marlins pitcher Richard Bleier in the eighth, doesn't believe his group is letting a three-game losing streak and a shrinking lead in the NL East get to them, even if there were signs to the contrary during Tuesday's 5-3 loss to last-place Miami.
"I don't think we're frustrated as a team," Rojas said. "There's gonna be emotions in games. I was a perfect example tonight. Javy is a guy that wears his emotions, as you guys have seen him before…there's no frustration. These guys fought until the last out…these guys are resilient. You saw it last night too. They're gonna keep fighting."
Losers of seven of their last 10, New York's playoff odds have dropped down to 24.3 percent, and when the Phillies welcome them this weekend, they will have a chance to take over the lead in the NL East. But Rojas is still preaching calm, even as the team's resiliency is being tested in the wake of multiple key injuries, including Francisco Lindor and Jacob deGrom.
"We've had a couple losses in a row, but the guys fight until the end," Rojas said. "I don't think that anything is frustrating us. Right now, we just gotta start hitting. We walked a few times tonight, which is a good sign, but we're still chasing pitches and we made some bad swing decisions in some 3-0 counts. I think that's the only thing that's missing right now. The guys are gonna keep playing hard and pushing until the end."
New York has scored five runs just twice in its last 10 games, and the offense is averaging just 2.6 runs per game in that span. The offense has consistently been a concern this season, and even with much of the lineup back from injury, save for Lindor, the runs have not returned in tow.
"You can't do anything different than what you've done when you know your team, and the team knows its identity," Rojas said. "We do have to put in work with our hitters I think, and we have to make sure they're going into the game ready, are more aggressive in the zone, I think those are the things we have to fix right now."
It's crunch time for the Mets, who will try to reassert their control over the division, or lose it entirely. Frustration seemed to be rising on Tuesday, but Rojas will try to make sure his team stays the course, and remembers the obstacles it has already overcome this season.
"I think we prepare the same way we've prepared all season," Rojas said. "We just can't feel panic at all at any point. We just have to go one game at a time."
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