Hopping on a plane and heading out to Los Angeles to face the two-time defending champion Dodgers is not the ideal prescription for a baseball team mired in a slide. And predictably it's offered no panacea for the Mets over the past two nights as the offense has combined to score one run in two defeats. Their losing streak has now reached seven games, completely erasing what looked to be a positive start to the year for a team paying dearly for the right to compete in the National League pennant chase.
A 7–11 record is not a reason to panic, especially with a roster that as talented as this one. Juan Soto will be back at some point to provide quality at-bats and hopefully boost a sluggish offense. Starting pitching figures to be a strength over the next 5 1/2 months, and no other team in the NL East except the Braves has hit the ground running without similar speed bumps.
