The next three days will define the story of the 2025 Mets
New York holds onto their playoff spot with a crucial win in Chicago. Plus, it doesn't matter how it looks... just get it done.
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets won a crucial series in Chicago to hold onto their playoff position, beating the Cubs by an 8-5 score (box)
RHP Nolan McLean had his most unusual start in the big leagues as he struck out a career-best 11 batters but also allowed a career-high five runs
McLean’s 11 strikeouts are the most by any Mets starting pitcher this season
Unless he makes a relief appearance of two-innings this weekend, McLean will maintain his rookie status in 2026
SS Francisco Lindor homered in the win, reaching the 30/30 mark for the third time in his career
3B Brett Baty went 2-for-4 with a crucial three-run home run (18) and two runs scored
CF Tyrone Taylor went 2-for-4 with a two-run double that proved to be the cushion the club would need in the victory
Relievers Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Díaz combined to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two base runners
RHP Dylan Ross (No. 20 prospect) is under consideration to be called up to the club over the weekend (NY Post)
New York’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to three with three games remaining
Roster Moves 📰
LHP Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment
RHP Kevin Herget was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Chris Devenski sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse
Playoff Race 🏁
Mets magic number: 3️⃣
The Reds won their series finale vs. Pittsburgh thanks to Noelvi Marte robbing a game-tying home run in the 9th inning to preserve a 2-1 lead. The Dbacks got drubbed by the Dodgers, however, in an 8-0 loss.
As a result, the Mets remain one game ahead of Cincinnati and are now two games ahead of Arizona with three games remaining.
The Marlins were officially eliminated from postseason contention on Wednesday night.
Playoff scenarios and tiebreakers:
The Mets do not own the tiebreaker against the Reds (season series: 2-4) - if they finish with identical records, the Reds would eliminate the Mets
The Mets and Diamondbacks finished their season series tied (3-3), but the Diamondbacks maintain a better record against the NL West than the Mets do against the NL East, so Arizona also has the tiebreaker against the Mets.
Per Fangraphs, the Mets have a 77.9% chance of making postseason. Meanwhile, the Reds odds are at 20.0% and the Dbacks are down to just a 2.1% of getting in.
Play of the Game ⭐️
The Mets had a lot of key moments in Thursday night’s win over the Cubs, but I’m not not sure any one was bigger than this hit from Brett Baty.
Having already jumped out to a 3-0 lead, New York’s pitching staff has not been in a position over the last several months for that to feel comfortable – even with their rookie ace on the mound.
With a pair of runners on in the 4th inning, Baty crushed a ball to the opposite field for a three-run homer to double the lead. This was the hit that allowed Mets fans, and probably the players, to ease the tension in their shoulders a bit.
And though things would get hairy later in the game, it was Baty’s home run that made this an uphill battle for the Cubs that they would not be able to surmount.
Stat of the Day 📊
Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor are just the third pair of teammates in baseball history to go 30/30 in the same season…
1987 Mets: Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson
1996 Rockies: Dante Bichette and Ellis Burks
Who’s Hot? 🔥
3B Brett Baty is hitting .311/.372/.500 with seven home runs, four doubles, 16 RBI, 24 runs scored and an .872 OPS over his last 42 games
RHP Edwin Díaz has an 0.77 ERA with 17 strikeouts, three walks and four saves in 10 appearances this Septemebr
Down on the Farm 🌾
The season has officially come to an end for all four Mets minor league affiliates.
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (82-77) at Marlins (77-82)
Where: loanDepot Park — Miami, FL
Starters: RHP Brandon Sproat (0-1, 3.94 ERA) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (10-12, 5.48 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
By any means necessary… ✍️
It doesn’t matter how pretty it looks. It doesn’t matter how they do it. But by any means necessary, these New York Mets just need to find a way.
Forget about the preseason expectations, forget about the consequences of missing the playoffs or even the chances of winning a potential postseason series. For this team, nothing matters beyond the next three days.
Whatever it takes, just win.
Thursday night at Wrigley Field was the perfect example of just that. While the Mets jumped out to a big lead and gave everyone the hope that this would be a relatively chill game with no agita or anxiety, things quickly got flipped on their head. What was shaping up to be the most dominant start of phenom Nolan McLean’s brief MLB career changed on a dime as the Mets rookie ran out of gas in the 6th inning.
After a walk and a ground-rule double that looked an awful lot like it might’ve been a foul ball (the Mets did not decide to challenge that one), McLean gave up what appeared to be a potentially crushing blow.
Seiya Suzuki slammed his second home run of the night, a three-run shot, and all of a sudden things got tight again.
What was once a 6-0 and 8-2 lead was suddenly a three-run affair, and that sound you heard? That was the butts of every single Mets fan in the tristate area tightening up as we braced for yet another strenuous affair.
Because if you’ve been a Mets fan long enough, and especially if you’ve been paying attention to what this team has been doing all year, you know that nothing ever comes easy.
All that being said, that stress was ultimately quelled as the Mets bullpen stunned us all and made this contest relatively painless down the stretch. The quartet of relievers allowed just two base runners and no runs in 3.2 innings of relief to nail down a key victory that will keep New York in control of their own destiny entering the final weekend of the regular season.
And at the end of the day, that’s really the only thing that matters. Winning and losing.
Now, as they brace for a clash with a Marlins franchise that has often played the role of heel to their own, it all comes down to this.
We have certainly been here before on the final weekend of the season against this franchise that has so often played the role of heel against the Mets. The 2007 and 2008 campaigns ended in hauntingly similar fashion, with New York losing a crushing game on the final day of the season to complete a pair of collapses and be eliminated from postseason play.
This franchise now has an opportunity to exorcise those demons – much like they dead a year ago in Atlanta – by holding serve over these final three games. With the Dbacks now on life support, all the 2025 edition of this team likely needs to do to avoid an epic four-month collapse is to match the Reds win output over this weekend, let alone exceed it.
They are in control of their own destiny, with a magic number of three over Cincinnati (and two over Arizona) with three games remaining. The soonest the Mets could clinch their postseason ticket would be Saturday, but we all know things likely won’t be that easy.
“I can almost guarantee it’s gonna be dramatic,” Newsday writer Laura Albanese said on our podcast earlier this month. “This is not for the faint of heart.”
If history tells us anything, these next three games are going to be an absolute roller coaster ride from Hell. We’ll cheer, we’ll crash out, we will live and die with every single pitch thrown until a final result is determined.
And while I – and my therapist – would certainly love a quick and painless route of the Marlins leading to an easy clinch on Saturday evening, it ultimately doesn’t matter how it looked.
Because when the dust settles this weekend, there will be no asterisks, no excuses, no style points. There will only be a season that survived… or a season that collapsed.
For the Mets, the task is as simple — and as agonizing — as it has ever been. Three games, three opportunities, three days to decide whether this year is remembered as a reclamation or another scar added to the franchise’s history.
It doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t have to be easy. It just has to end with the Mets standing.
Whatever it takes — just win.
Around the League 🚩
The Dodgers clinched their 12th NL West division title in the last 13 seasons thanks to an 8-0 blowout win over the Dbacks
The Tigers got a desperately needed victory to salvage their series against the Guardians, leaving them tied to the AL Central lead with three games remaining (though they do not have the tiebreaker)
Blue Jays CF Dalton Varsho crushed a grand slam to give Toronto a pivotal win after a difficult week
The Yankees kept pace in the AL East division race, defeating the White Sox by a 5-3 score for their fifth straight win
The Astros beat up on the A’s for an 11-5 victory, but remain a game out of the AL Wild Card picture entering the final weekend
Hoping McLean isn't needed to pitch again this season to keep hus rookie status but most importantly, to be able to start the First Wild Card Playoff Game
This is it. Three games and the magic number is three. Show us what you got, boys.