Blade Tidwell, the Mets’ top pitching prospect, started on the mound and allowed four runs in under four innings. Though his command wavered, the loss was hardly his alone. The bullpen followed with a disastrous outing, surrendering six additional runs as the game slipped into blowout territory.

The team built on its surprising playoff success from last year by handing out the largest contract in baseball history to Juan Soto, and it paid top dollar for other win-now additions like Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas.