Whatever momentum the New York Mets had found after their encouraging win against the Atlanta Braves was lost after they lost back-to-back games in Cincinnati. Hopes of climbing up the ladder in the NL East seem bleaker now. But the criticism is more on their use of the ABS challenges than the scores. 

“We were super aggressive today. Especially, [if] you lose that first one right there early, I think [it was] a little too much there,” Carlos Mendoza said in an interview with SNY TV. “We’ve got to do a better job, and that’s something that we’ll continue to talk to the guys about.”

Those comments came after the Mets returned to Great American Ballpark for the second game of the series. The Reds jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and the Mets quickly faded from the game while burning both challenges by the top of the second. They lost 5-3 in the second game of the series but showed a spark by cutting the deficit from 5-1 to 5-3 in the sixth. During which Carson Benge faced several borderline calls he couldn’t challenge because the Mets had already exhausted both their challenges. And replays appeared to show the pitches were outside the strike zone, fueling frustration.

Catcher Francisco Alvarez initiated the Mets’ first unsuccessful challenge when he requested a review of a 2-1 ball to J.J. Bleday in the first inning. Mendoza warned the team to be more careful after that.

Still, Marcus Semien went for it again on a called third strike in the 2nd. There were 2 outs already, and the bases were empty. Alvarez wanted to help Kodai Senga get back into the count with a runner on base in a scoreless game.

Notably, the Mets have a 51.3% success rate in ABS challenges. Although it’s just above par, it’s not that good a number league-wise. Earlier in April, Juan Soto exhausted the second challenge on a 0-0 count in the 6th inning. 

Mendoza didn’t seem excessively upset about his team being aggressive. Whether they could have used a challenge later to change the outcome is debatable. But the way they wasted the challenges on low-leverage situations definitely wasn’t well-received. That’s why he sent a wake-up call to the clubhouse to do a better job. 

But there might be another reason behind his frustration after Tuesday’s game. 

Mendoza faced his first ejection of the season

The Mets dugout was frustrated for not being able to challenge the borderline strike calls in the sixth inning. Although it was their own doing, some of that frustration went toward the plate umpire. And in the seventh inning, after Bleday walked on a low 3-2 pitch, someone from the dugout said something. 

And Carlos Torres, from behind the plate, thought it was Mendoza and threw him out of the game. The Mets manager immediately entered the field, trying to argue. He kept yelling in an attempt to convince the umpire that he didn’t even say anything. Torres kept his cool and stuck to his decision. 

Mendoza has been ejected earlier in 2024 and 2025 as well. Both of them were for arguing ball/strike calls. That’s why many thought he was trying to argue the call. But his 6th ejection (first in 2026) came after comments from the dugout that Torres attributed to him, before Mendoza emerged to argue the decision and was ejected again. 

Torres has 93.2% accuracy, and his consistency is also good at 94.2%. He has ejected several managers before, the most recent being the Reds manager, Terry Francona, in 2025. But his most bizarre decision was in May, when he denied two challenges from the catchers of each team during an Orioles-Athletics game. He even ended up ejecting Orioles infield coach Miguel Cairo, who tried to protest the decision against Baltimore. 

However, his decisions this Tuesday didn’t change the outcome of the game as neither team scored a run beyond the 6th inning. But using up the challenges too early didn’t really help the Mets. And after their second loss in Cincinnati, they are 32-41. New York sees no end to the struggle as they are now 6.5 games behind a Wild Card spot.