Mets sweep their way into playoff position

The Mets enjoyed their first shutout of the season as the Mets took over the third wild card in the National League on Thursday

NY Post

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets swept the Nationals with a 7-0 at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon (box)

• LHP David Peterson fired seven shutout innings to move to 4-0 on the season - his ERA is now 3.09 over his first eight starters

• RHP Phil Maton made his Mets debut and he struck out two over his one inning of work

• Brandon Nimmo got the Mets on the board with a bases loaded double to plate three in the fifth as part of a five-run inning for the club. JD Martínez and Pete Alonso contributed RBI singles in the frame as well

• Vientos and Harrison Bader each had RBI singles in the eighth to cap the scoring for the day

• New York is now 8-2 against the Nationals this season, are 19-8 over their last 27 games and are now the third wild card in the NL

• The Mets are 25-12 since May 30, tied with the Astros for the best record in MLB during that span

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Playoff Race 🏁

The Mets lead the Padres by 1/1000 of a percentage point for the third Wild Card spot with 70 games to play. Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 44.5 percent chance of making the postseason in 2024. They have the fourth-easiest schedule in MLB the rest of the way.

Tiebreakers:

• vs. ATL: 3-3

• vs. AZ: 2-2

• vs. STL: 3-2

• vs. SD: 3-0

• vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)

• vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Reed Garrett (right elbow inflammation) has no structural damage

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Who’s Hot 🔥

• Brandon Nimmo currently has a six-game hitting streak. He is hitting .360/.385/.800 with two doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI during that span. Over his last 64 games, Nimmo has 15 doubles, 14 home runs and 47 RBI with 46 runs scored

• In 45 games since being recalled from the minors, Mark Vientos is hitting .287/.341/.871 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 29 RBI with 27 runs scored

• With the win on Thursday, David Peterson improved to 4-0 on the year. The Mets are 7-1 in games Peterson has started so far in 2024

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Dominic Hamel (Triple-A): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

• INF Luisangel Acuña (Triple-A): 3-for-7, 3 R

• C Kevin Parada (Double-A): 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

• RHP Jordan Gerber (Double-A): 5 IP, 2 H, 4 K

• INF Colin Houck (Low-A): 1-for-4, 2 RBI

• INF Boston Baro (Low-A): 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R

• RHP Kade Morris (High-A): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K

• OF Nick Morabito (High-A): 2-for-4, BB, RBI, R

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (G1) (G2)

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (47-45) vs. Rockies (33-61)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (5-3 3.43 ERA) vs. RHP Tanner Gordon (0-1, 7.11 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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What an amazing turnaround! ✍️

Image courtesy of the New York Mets

It’s pretty incredible.

On May 29, the Mets had just been swept by the Dodgers at Citi Field, having been outclassed and outplayed 22-5 over the three games. They were 22-33, spiraling towards the bowel of the National League.

It wasn’t a question of how much the Mets needed to improve as much as it was about how bad they were, how bad they would be the rest of the way, and how much they would sell off at the trade deadline.

But then came the team meeting and a significant roster shakeup which seemingly changed the entire trajectory of this club.

Since May 30, the Mets are 25-12, tied with the Astros for the best record in the National League during that span. That 25-12 mark has ascended the Mets from the third or fourth worst team in the National League into the third wild card as play opens today.

Yes, it’s 1/1000 of a percentage point that’s making the difference, but in the end, they have a .511 winning percentage and the Padres - losers of four in a row - have a .510 winning percentage.

I am not one of those who sit around and say, “if the season ended today…” by any means. But given where this team was and where it is today, being in playoff position as we approach the All-Star break symbolizes an amazing turnaround for this club.

What’s more - the Mets have been able to survive a near three week stretch since June 23 when their bullpen has been MLB’s worst (7.50) by nearly a full run over the team they’re playing this weekend, the Colorado Rockies (6.59). It’s cost them several games for sure but in the end, they’ve been able to navigate those losses and position themselves to be buyers ahead of the trade deadline, which can now be seen on the horizon at less than three weeks away.

Image courtesy of the New York Mets

Think of it another way as well.

If the Mets sweep the Rockies this weekend, they will have 50 wins by the All-Star break.

Six weeks before, they had 22 wins over the season’s first eight weeks.

Now, I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but that would be an amazing mile marker to reach at this juncture of the season, all things considered. Wouldn’t it?

This is a different team than it was six weeks ago. Their offense is now among the game’s best, they’re starting to get a little more length out of their rotation, they have a personality and a presence they simply didn’t have before Memorial Day.

Once lost in the doldrums of mediocrity, the Mets are now not only relevant, but well positioned to earn a playoff berth over the season’s final 2 1/2 months.

It’s a long way to go of course, but the Mets have the fourth easiest schedule among all 30 clubs over their final 70 games. They also own a tie breaker over the Pirates, need to win their makeup game against the Cardinals to secure that one, need to win two out of three in their next series against Arizona to get that one, and need to win just one against the Padres to earn that one.

The situation with the Braves is more complicated since they have seven games left against them, and it’s the Braves - when is that ever not a problem for this franchise?

Even so, the stars are aligned for the Mets for a change. Usually, that’s not the case. They began to turn their season around when they had to, and seemingly have won most of their most important games based on how this race is shaping up.

Make no mistake - the Mets have a lot of needs. They addressed one of them with Phil Maton earlier this week, but they still need at least one more piece for their bullpen and they very likely need to add an outfielder to the mix.

Why?

DJ Stewart isn’t performing and he’s basically clogging up a roster spot. Who knows what the deal is with Starling Marte, and he’s a diminished outfielder anyway. Marte specifically could be a “less is more” player anyway at this point in his career. Jeff McNeil is obviously a diminished player himself on both sides of the ball as well. As such, the Mets need to add some offense and perhaps not lengthen as much as protect this lineup some more. They should be in the market for an upgrade there, perhaps a primary outfielder at that.

Imagine what the Mets could look like with a big arm to go along with Dedniel Núñez, José Buttó and now Phil Maton in their bullpen.

Imagine what the Mets could look like with another contact-centric hitter who could play right field at least at a net-neutral level out there.

Now that would look like a playoff team if you ask me.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Yankees staged a ninth inning rally but fell short to the Rays 5-4 at Tropicana Field. They have lost 17 of their last 23 games

• Aaron Nola struck out nine over 6.1 IP and hit three homers on their way to a 5-1 win over the Dodgers and a series sweep in Philadelphia

• Paul Skenes struck 11 over seven no-hit innings as the Pirates shutout the Brewers 1-0

• Max Fried allowed one run over six innings and the Braves bullpen threw two scoreless innings, but the Braves offense was dead again in a 1-0 loss to the Diamondbacks