Mets' Steve Cohen to Hold Press Conference Before Wednesday's Game amid Struggles

With the New York Mets having lost 16 of 22 games this month and owning the fourth-worst record in the National League, owner Steve Cohen is prepared to speak publicly about his team's struggles.

Cohen announced on Twitter he will hold a press conference before Wednesday's home game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Mets were 30-27 after a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1. They are 5-16 in 21 games since then and have fallen to 35-43 overall, just five games ahead of the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals for the worst mark in the NL.

Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Phillies may have been the most embarrassing game of the Mets' season. They held a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning.

Josh Walker started the frame by allowing the first three Phillies' hitters to reach base, including two walks.

Jeff Brigham took over and got Alec Bohm to hit what looked like a tailor-made double-play groundball to third baseman Brett Baty, but Baty double-clutched on a throw to second base that pulled Jeff McNeil off the bag for an error that also allowed a run to score.

Brigham walked Brandon Marsh with the bases loaded to make it a 6-5 game. After Kody Clemens struck out, Brigham hit Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner with pitches in consecutive at-bats to give the Phillies the lead.

In total, the Phillies scored four runs on one hit, three walks, one error and two hit by pitches. Mets manager Buck Showalter, who opted not to use closer David Robertson or top setup man Adam Ottavino in the game, didn't offer a great explanation for his bullpen management.

"What else could we do?" Showalter said after the game. "That was kind of where we were."

Ottavino did throw 26 pitches to get two outs on Saturday night, but he said after the game he told Showalter he was available on Sunday. Robertson did record a five-out save in Saturday's 4-2 win, but he only threw 13 pitches in the game.

Showalter didn't help the situation by using his top three relievers in Monday's game when the Mets were losing to the Brewers.

The Mets own the highest payroll in Major League Baseball by a wide margin. They are spending $344.2 million this season. The San Diego Padres a second at $245.8 million.

A number of New York's high-profile players have either underachieved or been unavailable for long periods of time due to injuries. Francisco Lindor is on pace to have the worst batting average (.223) and on-base percentage (.305) in his career.

Pete Alonso ranks second in the NL with 24 homers, but he's got a career-low .222 batting average and .314 on-base percentage. Max Scherzer's 3.95 ERA is on pace to be his worst since 2011 (4.43). Justin Verlander's 4.11 ERA is his highest since 2014 (4.54).

The Mets' .449 winning percentage is on pace to be their worst in a 162-game season since 2017 when they finished 70-92.