The Mets have been desperately searching for offensive sparks beyond Juan Soto, especially with key regulars sidelined on the injured list. On Thursday afternoon, it looked like they had finally found one in MJ Melendez.

Melendez came out swinging, lacing a single in his first at-bat before absolutely crushing a game-tying three-run homer over the right-field wall in his second trip to the plate. That blast—his second since joining the Mets—sent a jolt through the dugout. Two innings later, he showed his selflessness by laying down a sacrifice bunt to move Juan Soto into scoring position after a leadoff walk in a tie game. Mark Vientos cashed in immediately with a double, giving New York its first lead of the afternoon.

But the story took a puzzling turn in the bottom of the eighth. With the Mets trailing Washington by a run, Soto led off with a double to right field, bringing Melendez to the on-deck circle. He had been the team's most productive hitter all day. Yet, with left-hander Richard Lovelady on the mound, manager Carlos Mendoza opted to pinch-hit Austin Slater instead.

Slater, a recent minor-league signing, hadn't taken an at-bat in eight days. To his credit, he carries a solid .263 career average with 30 of his 45 home runs and a .776 OPS against left-handed pitching—numbers that made the matchup seem favorable on paper. But on this day, he worked the count full before grounding out to shortstop, killing the rally.

The Mets went quietly in the ninth, dropping their second straight game and falling to 10-21 on the season. They now own the worst record in baseball heading into May, with questions swirling about Mendoza's job security, a banged-up lineup, and an offense that continues to underperform top to bottom.

After the game, Mendoza stood by his decision. "Slater is here to hit lefties, obviously," he explained. "Knowing that we've seen Lovelady against righties as well, just wanted to take the chance there with a righty against him and try to do some damage."

Sometimes the numbers say one thing, but the moment says another. For a team that can't afford to waste any opportunity, this one will sting for a while.