By Chaitanya Prakash

Copyright sportskeeda

The New York Mets’ bizarre slump in the second half of the season was summed up in a 6-2 loss against the Miami Marlins on Friday, denting their postseason hopes.The Mets took a 2-0 lead after the first inning, thanks to a leadoff home run from Francisco Lindor and an RBI double from Pete Alonso. However, things went downhill for the visitors from there.The Marlins tied the game in the fifth inning after a two-run home run from Heriberto Hernandez. The Marlins turned the score around to take the lead with a go-ahead single after Alonso fumbled a ground ball.The Mets continued to spiral as Agustín Ramírez stole second without a throw and then swiped third, leading to another run after Xavier Edwards’ single. The inning concluded with pinch-hitter Liam Hicks smashing a two-run home run to make it 6-2. Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen didn’t pull any punches during the disastrous inning.”And the Mets’ lack of attention to detail, which has popped up repeatedly during this slow-motion, backwards march over the last three-and-a-half months, comes up to bite them again,” Cohen said.Former Mets All-Star Ron Darling also weighed in:”I mean, you might take your whole travel ball squad off the field if something like that happens. Here’s a team that is fighting to get to October. What are you going to do in October with an inning like that?”Marlins dent Mets’ postseason hopes amid Reds’ late pushThe Mets failed to capitalize on their early lead, falling to a 6-2 loss. It was a damaging loss for the postseason hopefuls as the Cincinnati Reds won 3-1 against the Milwaukee Brewers to improve to an 82-78 record for the season. The Reds are tied with the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot and hold the tie-breaker over New York. Cincinnati needs to match the Mets’ results in the remaining two games to punch its ticket for the playoffs.Steve Cohen’s team not only needs to win their remaining two games but also hopes that the Reds stumble against the Brewers.