NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Heaney, the only person in section 524 at Citi Field shortly before the start of Tuesday night’s game between the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins, grinned as he gazed at the sea of empty seats.
“You wouldn’t be here tonight if you weren’t a Met fan,” Heaney said.
The returned home Tuesday to a quieter reception than manager Carlos Mendoza and players anticipated with the club trying to snap an 11-game losing streak — the longest for the team since 2004.
“They’re not going to be happy, that’s not a secret,” Mendoza said. “Our fan base, they’re going to let you know when you’re not playing well.”
“It’s not going to be good, which is justifiably so — we’re not playing well whatsoever,” pitcher Sean Manaea said. “I just expect it to not be the friendliest of welcome back home.”
Shortstop Francisco Lindor said following Sunday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs that he expected it to “get very loud” Tuesday night.
But the few thousand fans in attendance on a brisk evening in Queens — the temperature at first pitch was 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 Celsius) — didn’t get loud until the third inning, when Lindor hit a three-run homer to open the scoring and give the Mets their biggest lead since a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on April 5.
New York entered Tuesday hitting .200 during its skid while being outscored 62-19. The Mets didn’t have slugger Juan Soto for any of that stretch, but he is expected to after missing the last 16 games with a strained left quad.
“I think if they can get it going today, I think the fans will rally around them,” said Josh Hudson, a Tennessee resident in town for business who was sitting in section 509 with a $15 ticket he bought on the secondary market.
Heaney, a resident of Malverne on Long Island who wore a Mets hat and 2022 playoff sweatshirt, grinned as he recalled how he ended up buying a $12 ticket and heading to the game alone.
“I couldn’t get my wife to come,” Heaney said. “I couldn’t get my kids to come. I couldn’t get my friends to come. I bought one ticket, the cheapest one I could find, and I’m going to see if I can help them turn it around.”
Mendoza, in his third season as manager after six seasons on the Yankees’ coaching staff, said he wouldn’t mind a frosty reception because he knows how fans will react if the team fares better.
“They’re also going to be right behind you when we flip it around,” Mendoza said. “We’ve seen that before, too, so it’s nothing new for us that have been here. We expect those guys to continue to support us, but we’ve got to do better for them too.
“It’s all part of it. It comes with the territory. Wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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