Mets come up all aces on off-day, tie Braves for the third wild card

The Braves lost to the Rockies to tie with the Mets for the last Wild Card spot, the Padres were shocked by the Tigers, and the Giants walked off the D-Backs as the Mets gain major ground in the race

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets were off on Thursday, and will open a three-game series with the Reds today at Citi Field

• The Mets gained ground on all three of the Diamondbacks, Padres and Braves, tying the Braves for the final wild card spot

• Mets manager Carlos Mendoza doesn’t appear as a rookie manager amidst pennant race (Athletic)

• After struggling to fill the stadium earlier in the season, the fans have returned to Citi Field (New York Post)

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Playoff Race 🏁

Despite having the day off, the Mets gained ground on the Diamondbacks, Braves, and Padres. The Diamondbacks fell to the Giants and the Braves lost to the Rockies. Parker Meadows hit a grand slam in the ninth for the Tigers to defeat the Padres 4-3.

The Mets are now tied with the Braves for the third wild card, 2.5 games behind the Diamondbacks for the second wild card, and 3 games behind the Padres for the top wild card.

There are 22 games remaining.

Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 45.5% chance of making the postseason.

New York has the 9th hardest schedule in MLB the rest of the way.

Tiebreakers:

• vs. ATL: 5-5

• vs. ARI: 4-3 (finished)

• vs. SD: 5-2 (finished)

• vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)

• vs. STL 4-2 (finished)

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Roster Moves 📰

• Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) was transferred to the 60-day IL

• JD Martínez reinstated from the paternity list

• DJ Stewart optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

• José Azócar has been claimed off waivers from the Padres, optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• CF Luisangel Acuña (No. 12 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-5

• RHP Jonah Tong (No. 10 prospect, Double-A): 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (AA Debut)

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (76-64) vs. Reds (68-73)

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.35 ERA) vs. RHP Fernando Cruz (3-8, 4.99 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Here we go! ✍️

The final stretch of the season is here.

It is September 6, and the Mets are in possession of a Wild Card spot. They’re controlling their own destiny in this playoff race.

After all of the ups and downs of the season, they have won seven in a row and have 76 wins with 22 games remaining.

Still, this isn’t going to be easy and it looks like they’re going to need 89-90 wins to secure a spot in the October dance.

The team has nine games against the Reds, Blue Jays, and Nationals but they also have 13 games left against the Braves, Phillies and Brewers, and their season could hinge on how they do against the Phillies and more importantly the Braves specifically.

Many a promising Mets season have been derailed by the House of Horrors in Atlanta, so for this team to get to the postseason, they will have to overcome what so many others before them have failed to do.

Of course, there is still a path to the playoffs even if they ultimately do fall short of the Braves.

Both the Diamondbacks and Padres could also go into a tailspin and fall short. The Padres on paper have the 5th hardest schedule remaining but that is heavily skewed by just how bad the White Sox are. They still have three games remaining against each of the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Astros. The Mets could take advantage when San Diego and Arizona square off against each other but Mets need to make sure they take care of business.

Remember - the Mets only have to knock out one of the three, not just the Braves. They’re just counting on help from other clubs with the Padres and Diamondbacks, whereas the Mets will likely have an opportunity to knock the Braves out themselves.

Again, they control their own destiny. Can they put a stranglehold on it? That will depend on them and how they play.

While it’s hard not to scoreboard watch this time of year, essentially the Mets can’t worry about the other teams and just focus at the task at hand. They have a difficult schedule ahead of them, but so do the Padres and the Braves will also have to be firing on all cylinders when they face the Mets three weeks from now too.

Even so, the Mets are facing a bit of an uphill battle.

However, given the way their MVP is performing, how well they’ve performed against the better teams and how far this team has already come, this team is certainly capable of overcoming these last hurdles to October.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Braves lost 3-1 to the Rockies to put them in a tie with the Mets for the last Wild Card spot

• Patrick Bailey hit a RBI double in the ninth to help the Giants earn a walk-off victory over the Diamondbacks

• Trailing 3-0 in the top of the ninth, the Tigers plated four runs against Padres RHP Robert Suárez to shock San Diego and send them home with a 4-3 loss

• The Giants and Matt Chapman agreed to a six-year extension worth $151 million

• The Mariners have reportedly extended President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto despite another disappointing season