Ryan Helsley gets honest about ugly start to Mets tenure

Ryan Helsley’s first two weeks with his new team haven’t exactly been a career highlight. 

The veteran reliever, following his arrival at the trade deadline from the Cardinals, has dealt with disappointing performances but also a team skid that has threatened the Mets’ postseason chances. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Helsley said Saturday before the Mets faced the Mariners at Citi Field. “It’s kind of been just like a bad dream since I have been here. 

“It seems like every time the other team swings the bat the ball finds a hole and they put together a couple of runs here and there. Then we’ll hit the ball hard and it’s right at somebody. Sometimes baseball is going to baseball.” 

Helsley’s recent outings have contributed to the anguish.

He entered the day with an 8.44 ERA in his seven appearances with the Mets.

Included were three straight blown saves for a team that had lost 14 of 16 games.

That free fall left the Mets with a half-game lead over the Reds for the NL’s third and final wild-card spot as Saturday’s action commenced.

The Mets trailed the Phillies by six games for first place in the NL East. 

Helsley’s latest letdown occurred on Friday, when the right-hander allowed two earned runs, recording only one out in the seventh inning, to flush a Mets lead.

Overall, Helsley has allowed nine hits in 5 ¹/₃ innings since his arrival. 

It’s not the impression Helsley had wanted to make on his new organization and fan base. 

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“It’s definitely a weird feeling,” he said. “I have never really, at least to my memory, especially lately, pitched like this or had the results that I have had the last 10 days or so. But my body feels good, which is a positive, and I feel great. You have just got to keep going.” 

Helsley was part of a bullpen overhaul before the July 31 trade deadline that also saw Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto arrive.

Helsley, who dominated last season with 49 saves in 53 chances, owned a 3.00 ERA when he arrived to the Mets. 

“Pitching is definitely easier than hitting and I feel the mistakes I have made the last three or four games, I am paying for it,” Helsley said. “Sometimes when things are going good you get away with it. And when I do make good pitches, guys are making even better swings and hitting the ball.” 

Helsley is still regularly topping 100 mph with his fastball, but lately has encountered trouble with his slider.

On Thursday, Michael Harris II jumped on a slider for an RBI double that tied the game in the eighth inning.

On Friday, Helsley got ahead 0-2 in the count to Eugenio Suárez, who delivered a game-tying RBI double on a slider. 

“It probably should have been more for chase, but it was down and away in a good location, but still a strike nonetheless,” Helsley said. “I need to make a better pitch and try to get some chase there, especially with the guy on second base.” 

Brooks Raley also had a rare letdown performance that contributed to disappointment for the Mets. 

With 39 games remaining, Helsley expects the bullpen to be a positive force for a team in a dogfight for a postseason berth. 

“We have been in a little bit of a skid, but we have got a lot of games left and we can only focus on today,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys here that have a lot of experience, so we have just got to put everything behind us.”