At a certain point during a long losing streak, the way you lose starts to feel like a bit. Like, the Mets are joking right? Coming off a blown save against the Cubs on Sunday, closer Devin Williams blew it again for New York on Tuesday night against the Twins. Entering a 3-3 game in the top of the ninth, Williams walked the first two batters he faced, allowed a sacrifice bunt, gave up a go-ahead single and walked in another run for good measure.

Williams took the L. It was NY’s 12th in a row. With a lineup batting .217 in the last seven days and a pitching staff collectively holding a 5.62 ERA in that span, there seems to be no end in sight. Who could have seen Tuesday’s loss coming? Everyone and their mother. Who could have seen Williams’ meltdown coming? David Stearns certainly couldn’t. But he should have.

Devin Williams’ rough start with the Mets parallels the same with the Yankees

Williams’ ERA is now 9.95. He’s lucky it’s not worse. Austin Warren relieved him with the bases loaded, inducing three straight strikeouts to strand the remaining runners.

That’s a catastrophically bad ERA for a closer, but it’s also familiar. His ERA for the months of March and April last year with the Yankees was…drumroll please…9.00.

So you see, this is par for the course for Williams in April in New York City. The timing of this particular tough stretch even fits. Last year he gave up three earned runs in a Yankees loss on Apr. 19. His next appearance resulted in a blown save with another three earned runs allowed.

And no, this isn’t just how Williams starts seasons. He has tended towards slower starts, but that was as a middle reliever. In 2023 with the Brewers, his first season as the full-time closer, he didn’t allow a run in the first month.

Are the lights of New York too bright for Devin Williams?

Williams’ move to the Bronx didn’t go well and his move across town to Queens hasn’t changed much for him. He was accused of withering under the bright lights of New York and he’s certainly not helping his case now in a Mets uniform.

If the stage is too big for Williams, the Mets can’t claim there weren’t indications before they signed him. They brought him in knowing full well he severely underperformed expectations in 2025.

David Stearns pinned his hopes on that season with the Yankees being the outlier. Williams’ career WHIP with the Brewers was 1.023. Despite his early struggles with the Yankees, his 2024 WHIP was a respectable 1.129.

The hope, at least based on early results, was misplaced. And it’s one of just a few massive years-long problems the Mets now have to deal with.

Is there any optimism for the Mets and Devin Williams?

The Mets can’t go back in time and make a different decision on their closer for 2026. They’ve got Williams, they’ve just got to hope he comes good. The Yankees had to do the same.

After blowing that save on Apr. 25 last year, Williams temporarily lost his closer role. In the month of May, he settled considerably. By June, he was dealing. But he backslid in July.

Williams had Yankees fans believing he’d figured it out for a stretch there, but he was out of the closer role in August.

It feels too early to change Williams’ role right now. Then again, it took 11 outings for the Yankees to demote him. In the middle of a 12-game losing streak, putting him on the mound with the game on the line won’t inspire confidence in anyone. Not after he’s been personally responsible for two of those defeats.

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