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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Juan Soto #22 and Luke Weaver #30 of the New York Mets celebrate after defeating the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field on April 22, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The New York Mets have finally broken free of their losing ways. Shortly after the return of Juan Soto, they managed a narrow 3-2 win in a contest against the Twins. Reliever Luke Weaver and first baseman willed the win into existence. 

Welcome back to Winning Queens

The Mets jumped ahead early by scoring on a Francisco Lindor single in the second inning. After the Twins responded with a Victor Caratini sac-fly, New York reclaimed the lead with a thunderous double from Francisco Alvarez. 

The lead was squandered when Byron Buxton, who’d been a pest all series, blasted a solo home run to left field. The score was knotted at two apiece heading into the latter innings. 

New York’s first of two heroes was Vientos, who singled in Brett Baty in the eighth inning. Three runs ended up being enough as Mets reliever Luke Weaver slammed the door. 

Weaver’s heroics capped off a wild game that ended New York’s 12-game losing streak. In typical Mets fashion, Buxton came to the dish with an opportunity to tie the game. Weaver prevailed and cut down the dangerous right-hander. After the game, he made it clear that the moment was never too big. 

Luke Weaver isn’t Scared of the Bright Lights for Mets 

“Look, people smell fear,” Weaver announced rather stoically. “I’m not the biggest guy in the room, but I ain’t scared of nobody.” 

That old-timey, scratch-and-claw mentality is exactly what the Mets will need if they want to get back into the playoff race. Most analysts and fans alike had Queens penciled in as a division favorite. After two weeks of losses, they’ve made it rather hard on themselves. 

The NL East is Better than Ever

A $370 million payroll, MVPs, All-Stars, and a chorus of talent to supplement their big names haven’t been enough to tame the NL East. The division rival Braves sit atop the division at 17-8. It’s long been known that Atlanta is talented. It seems they’ve finally tamed the injury bug. 

To add insult to injury, the Nationals and Marlins have emerged early in the season as young, scrappy teams. The exact kind of competition that feeds into skids like this. D.C. has a dynamic lineup headlined by freak-athlete James Wood. Miami sports one of baseball’s grittiest lineups and currently has three top hitters in the NL via batting average with Liam Hicks (.324), Xavier Edwards (.348), and Otto Lopez (.318). 

National Media Still Believes in These Mighty Mets

In a recent podcast, Aram Leighton of JustBaseball made it clear he’s not abandoning Queens. 

“I still think this team makes the playoffs,” said Leighton. 

It’s not a popular opinion right now. That’s for sure. New York has slipped to fourth place in their division. If it weren’t for the Phillies‘ equally poor play, they’d be solidified in dead last. Philadelphia now has the longest losing streak in baseball, and they’re 1-9 in their last ten. 

If the Mets want any shot at playoff baseball, they lay the foundation now. Unfortunately, it looks like Lindor might miss more time with what’s being called “left-calf tightness.” Manager Carlos Mendoza remarked that when the Mets got relatively good news on a similar issue with Soto, he was still shelved for three weeks. 

New York’s early-season struggles have dug quite a hole. If the Metropolises want a shot at repeating their playoff appearances from the past two seasons, it’ll take a team-wide “Luke Weaver Mentality.”