Apr 21, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) in the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — The Mets’ misery simply is eternal.
After Nolan McLean lost his gem and a three-run lead, closer Devin Williams came undone for a second straight appearance, allowing two runs in the ninth inning and relegating the Mets to a 12th-straight loss on Tuesday night by a score of 5-3 to the Minnesota Twins.
This is the seventh time in franchise history that the Mets (7-16) have had a losing streak of 12 or more games — the first since 2002.
Williams walked the first two men he faced in the ninth, and Kody Clemens’ sacrifice bunt up the first-base line was fielded by Mark Vientos, but his throw to third to get the force on James Outman was too late. With the infield in, Luke Keaschall chopped a single over third baseman Bo Bichette and into left field to score the go-ahead run. Williams then walked Matt Wallner to bring in Minnesota’s fifth.
McLean carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, but came undone to squander a 3-0 lead, allowing a two-run home run to Byron Buxton in the sixth and a game-tying RBI single to Keaschall in the seventh.
The New York ace went 6.2 innings, allowing those three runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts — one shy of tying a career high.
Francisco Lindor momentarily jolted a dormant Mets offense to life in the third inning when he launched a three-run home run into the second deck of the right-field seats.
While it was just Lindor’s second home run, along with his second, third, and fourth RBI of the season, the blast also accounted for as many runs as the Mets had scored in their previous 22 innings.
McLean was untouchable through five innings, needing just 64 pitches to get through the first half of the night. He struck out seven of the first nine men he faced, including a run of five straight punchouts between the second and third innings.
Following an eight-pitch fifth inning, McLean’s bid at perfection went up in smoke when Walner lined a lead-off single to right field. He got the next two Twins, but Byron Buxton tagged a cutter that sat up in the zone 374 feet into the left-field seats to cut the Mets’ lead to just one run.
It was one of just four cutters McLean threw on the night.
The Twins tied it up in the seventh when Keaschall’s RBI single scored Clemens, who pulled a one-out double down the right-field line just one batter earlier.
All the while, Mets bats fell back asleep, recording just a single hit after Lindor’s home run. They have scored just six runs in their last three games and 22 over their last 12.
