One can point to the bottom of the third, when the Mets had two on and one out with the top of the lineup due up, before Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto came up empty.
Or certainly the bottom of the seventh, when they had runners on first and second with one out again, only to have Soto and Pete Alonso fall short.
In the ninth, Jeff McNeil just missed a pinch hit double to open the inning, but he drew a walk before Lindor grounded into a double play.
Soto then grounded out to end a 6-5 loss to the Cubs.
Any way to look at it, a Mets team that has capitalized on plenty of opportunities so far this season to go up in the NL East failed to do so Saturday.
On this night, they got a pair of homers from Brett Baty, including one in the eighth that got the Mets back to within a run after Max Kranick allowed two runs in the top of the inning.
But they ended up 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, while the Cubs went 4-for-8.
“We created traffic and couldn’t come up with the big hit,’’ manager Carlos Mendoza said of the offense. “I’ll take my chances with that every night. As long as we continue to put guys on base, more times than not, those guys will come through.”
Other than Baty, that didn’t happen Saturday.
It was a tough night for several Mets, as Tylor Megill was hit around again.
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The right-hander had a 1.09 ERA through his first four starts, but has allowed eight runs in 9 ²/₃ innings in his past two outings — and didn’t make it out of the fifth on Saturday.
Mendoza said Megill was “laboring” throughout, although his pitches looked better later in the outing.
Former Mets prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the game with a single, swiped second and moved to third on a Francisco Alvarez throwing error.
He scored on Seiya Suzuki’s RBI single up the middle for the game’s first run.
A two-out walk to Justin Turner loaded the bases before Megill got Nico Horner to pop out, but Baty couldn’t handle Dansby Swanson’s hard liner to third and the infield hit made it 2-0 in the 29-pitch inning.
Megill entered the game having not allowed an earned run in his first three starts at home this year over 14 ²/₃ innings.
After an easy second, Megill allowed a leadoff double in the third to Suzuki, who scored on Michael Busch’s single to put the Mets in a 3-0 hole.
Things got worse for Megill and the Mets in the fourth when Swanson led off with a homer to left-center.
Baty drilled a slider from Cade Horton, the Cubs top pitching prospect making his MLB debut, for a three-run homer with two outs in the fourth.
It was the second straight game with a homer for Baty.
An inning later, Lindor was at second with two outs in the fifth when Alonso drilled a liner right at third baseman Jon Berti to end the inning.
Baty nearly came through again in the sixth.
With Brandon Nimmo at second and two out, Baty ripped one to left, caught by Suzuki.
The Mets squandered yet another chance in the seventh — this time with their most dangerous hitters at the plate.
Taylor singled and Lindor walked with one out against right-hander Daniel Palencia, only for Soto to go down on a foul tip strikeout on a 3-2 slider and Alonso to ground into a force-out to keep it a one-run game.
But Kranick loaded the bases in the eighth and then allowed a two-run single to Miguel Amaya.
It was the fourth straight outing in which Kranick has been scored upon.