PITTSBURGH 鈥 Saturday night became an unexpected meet and greet for the Mets.
In the aftermath of a second straight noncompetitive loss against a last-place club, the Mets held a players only meeting in the visiting clubhouse at PNC Park with the hope that vocalization would be the first step toward recovery.
Brandon Nimmo (who did not speak in the meeting) indicated that Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso were among the 鈥渟ix or seven鈥 players who spoke up.
Another player present told The Post that Juan Soto spoke during the meeting.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not 鈥榬ah, rah,鈥 like, 鈥楴ow, the season is going to turn around,鈥 鈥 Lindor said after the 9-2 loss to the Pirates. 鈥淲e are competing still. We are one game out of first place. We are on top in the wild card.
鈥淭his is not like a magic thing. This is not how it works. If that鈥檚 how it worked, we would have done it a while ago, but it鈥檚 just part of the adversity we are dealing with. It鈥檚 good to look each other in the eye and understand that we are going through it at the same time and understand this is a team sport.鈥
The Mets lost for the 12th time in 15 games, emerging from a rain delay in the second inning to fall flat against the hapless Bucs for a second straight night.
In the two games, the Mets have been outscored 18-3.
This after the Mets had appeared to turn the corner on the last home stand by winning their final two games against the Braves to earn a series split.
After the Mets lost a seventh straight game last weekend, Lindor was asked about the possibility of a players only meeting.
He said at the time that any such discussion would have to occur 鈥渙rganically.鈥
And that is how he described the origins of Saturday鈥檚 meeting.
鈥淎fter the game we all sat here and it just happened,鈥 Lindor said. 鈥淲e collectively as a group decided to start talking to each other and that is what good teams do. We all rely on each other. We all bounce ideas off each other.鈥
The Mets held a players only meeting on May 29 last season with the team sputtering and soon began a turnaround that ended in Game 6 of the NLCS.
But the club also brought in new pieces around that time, including Jose Iglesias, the ringleader of the 鈥淥MG鈥 Mets who captivated New York.
Nimmo described this latest meeting as a community forum.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 necessarily one guy saying, 鈥楬ey, you need to do this or that,鈥 鈥 Nimmo said. 鈥淭his was more of just a community talk and getting things out there. It was good. We鈥檒l see if it works or not.鈥
Soto, who has been among the few Mets producing lately 鈥 he owns a 1.214 OPS in June 鈥 told players to 鈥渒eep believing,鈥 according to a source.
Neither Lindor nor Alonso would divulge what message they imparted. Alonso said several issues, not just one, have plagued the Mets.
鈥淛ust collectively as a group 鈥 offensively, defensively, baserunning 鈥 we鈥檙e not playing our cleanest baseball,鈥 Alonso said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not playing to our maximum potential right now. It shows in the record. We鈥檙e playing good games or staying in games, but I think we need to do a better job of finishing.鈥
Lindor hopes that talking it out will serve the players well.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a position where we are taught to keep things inside,鈥 Lindor said. 鈥淲hen we all see guys talking, it seems like we are all going through the same thing at the same time, so why not talk about it? It makes you feel like you are not playing alone, like you are playing a team sport.鈥