Your bag is empty.
The New York Mets lost their 12th straight game on Tuesday night, and it was Devin Williams’ second consecutive ninth-inning meltdown. He had his fair share of those with the New York Yankees, too, eventually being demoted from the closer’s role in 2025. It’s why the Yankees didn’t re-sign him, and the Mets are now struggling in part because of it.
For whatever reason, Williams just can’t pitch in New York. He was one of the sport’s best closers in Milwaukee. The underlying metrics suggest he was fairly unlucky with the Yanks and Mets, but something isn’t clicking.
Devin Williams melts down again
Devin Williams came in to keep a 3-3 tie with the Minnesota Twins tied, giving the chance for the beleaguered Mets to walk off and end their 11-game losing streak. Instead, the closer gave the Twins a victory and sent New York to its franchise-record 12th consecutive loss.
Williams allowed the first three baserunners to reach with ease. Bell worked a four-pitch walk. James Outman pinch ran and stole second, but Ryan Jeffers also worked a walk. Kody Clemens sacrificed with a bunt, but the play wasn’t made, leaving the bases loaded.
With the infield drawn in, Luke Keaschall slapped a single to left field, scoring one run. Williams then, with the bases loaded and no outs, walked Matt Wallner after an eight-pitch at-bat. That made it 5-3, and the bases were still loaded with no outs.
The Mets mercifully pulled the plug, and Austin Warren recorded three straight strikeouts to improbably prevent Williams from giving up more runs. Still, the damage was done, and the Mets went down in order with two strikeouts to fall to 7-16.
Closer reacts to another blown game
Devin Williams was one of the game’s best closers before 2025. Something happened in his trade to the Yankees, and it has transformed a dominant reliever into a shell of himself. It may be the miles on his tires or simply the pressure of New York.
“It’s tough, man,” Williams said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this, you know? I felt a little out of sync mechanically. I couldn’t really land my changeup for a strike. So it was tough to try and just beat guys with just a fastball.”
“It sucks because you’re feeling good, especially with the way the game was developing there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You watch Nolan (McLean) kind of dominate pretty much a whole lineup there for the first five innings. Lindor sets the tone with a three-run homer. You feel like you’re getting some momentum. But then after that, couldn’t do anything else.”
The Mets own the worst record in baseball now. They are victims of the worst losing streak in franchise history, and there genuinely appears to be no end in sight.
Unlucky?
As mentioned, the underlying metrics suggest that the dominant closer was a little unlucky in 2025. His ERA of 4.79 was the first instance of an ERA over 2.50 after his rookie season. That’s bad, but his expected ERA of 3.05 is much better. His K rate stayed fairly consistent, too, at 34.7%.
Things have gotten worse with the Mets, but Williams is still getting unlucky. A 9.95 ERA is absolutely horrendous, but his xERA of 3.40 is alarmingly low comparatively. His K rate is 30.6%, which is down but still a very good mark.
His FIP numbers also suggest some poor defensive backing in those two seasons. In 2025, his FIP was 2.68, which suggests he would’ve been a whole lot better with competent defense. His 2026 FIP is not good at 4.56, but that’s still a far cry from his ERA. Command and luck have not been kind to Williams, but all hope is clearly not lost.
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