The New York Mets‘ once-certain postseason berth is now very much in peril.
The Mets briefly fell out of the National League’s No. 3 wild card spot Saturday after their 3-2 defeat to the Texas Rangers at Citi Field on Saturday — their eighth straight loss.
New York (76-73), which led the National League East as recently as Aug. 2 and were in the second wild card and five games up on the San Francisco Giants as recently as Sept. 2, fell percentage points behind the Giants by virtue of its one extra loss.
Luckily for the Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers helped them out by rallying to defeat Giants 13-7 on Saturday Night at Oracle Park.
What Did The Mets Say About Falling Out of A Playoff Spot?
The numbers in the second half of the season are not pretty for the Mets.
New York is 21-31 since the All-Star Break, but even that record looks better than it is, since the Mets came out of the break with seven wins in their first nine games, including a three-game sweep of the Giants in San Francisco from July 25-27.
Yet, that’s where things went sideways. The Mets are 14-29 in their past 43 games and have lost an almost-unimaginable 14.5 games in the NL East standings to the Philadelphia Phillies in that span, whose magic number to clinch the division is down to one.
We’ve got to get going here fast,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve got to get the job done, period.”
Yet, even amid all their recent struggles — including Saturday, where the Mets led 2-0 after Juan Soto blasted his 40th home run of the season in the seventh inning — the Mets still sit a half-game ahead of the Giants with 13 to play.
“We have the talent,” Soto said. “Just look around. We have great players — all over, great players, great coaches, and we have a great fanbase. So I think it’s a playoff team.”
Still, the Mets‘ chances of making the playoffs have dwindled, especially over the past week, since they had a 73 percent chance to get to October baseball Tuesday per Baseball Reference. Those odds have dipped to below 50 percent, since the Mets have not won in more than a week.
It comes down to us winning games,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “Here we are. We have to get it done. I have to get it done, and the good thing here is everyone here is fighting for each other. Everyone feels like we are preparing the right way. Hopefully, baseball turns on our side.”
What Did The 2007 Mets Do To Encourage This Year’s Team?
Members of the 2007 Mets were on hand Saturday, which is almost perfect symmetry based on how this year’s Mets have played.
That year’s Mets blew a seven-game lead with 17 games to play, losing the National League East in Game 162 by they fell to the Miami Marlins — allowing the Phillies to claim the division.
Yet, when they spoke to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, the members of the 2007 team had good advice for this year’s freefalling club.
At the end of the day, you are in a position where you’re fighting for a playoff opportunity,” former Mets great Carlos Beltran said. “You know how many teams would love to sign up for that opportunity, to be in exactly this position?
“So I would say to them, ‘Just go out there and just play hard baseball, and if it’s meant to be, it’s going to be for you, and if it’s not meant to be, at least you’re going to go down giving your best.’”
“I like to focus more on the positives,” former first baseman Carlos Delgado said. “So if you told me in February, ‘You know what? By Sept. 13 you are going to be holding a Wild Card spot.’ … I mean, I’ll take that any time. I would continue to play hard. Don’t scoreboard-watch. One day at a time, one at-bat at a time. ‘Let’s win today. Let’s figure it out.’
Mets Lose Again, Briefly Fall Out Of NL Wild Card Spot