Luis Castillo was sitting in a chair facing his locker, his head buried in his hands. He stayed like that for 10, 20, 30 seconds until he turned around, took a deep breath and faced a cluster of reporters. His mouth continued to move, words kept coming out, but Castillo’s eyes were glazed over, as if he were still in shock. One out from an uplifting victory, the Mets suffered their most heart-rending and gut-wrenching loss in a season loaded with them.The Mets’ last three losses have come in the ninth inning or later, to the two teams they want to clobber most, in games that they readily acknowledge they should have won. Against Philadelphia, the Mets were burned by their own disappearing offense as much as the Phillies’ resolve. The Mets know they have no margin for error, that they must play perfectly, as Carlos Beltran said Thursday, because of all their injuries.
Against the Yankees, the Mets did everything right — stringing together hits, receiving solid bullpen work, delivering in the clutch — until the final play of the game. Aside from Castillo, Church had the best view in the ninth as Rodriguez skied a ball to shallow right center. Castillo ranged back, staggering somewhat, before preparing to make a one-handed catch. From contact, Church said he knew it was not his ball because he saw Castillo’s uniform number — a sign, according to him, that Castillo was not in danger of misplaying it.
