When the Mets leave Arizona, their path will be clear the rest of the way...
After suffering heartbreak in San Diego, the Mets must rebound quickly and take care of business against the D-backs if they are to keep their October dreams alive...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were off on Monday and will continue their road trip against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday
SS Francisco Lindor was named the NL Player of the Week after hitting .345/.387/.793 with 10 hits, three homers, six RBIs, six runs scored, two walks and one stolen base over a seven-game stretch
Making an adjustment against off-speed pitches has been credited for Mark Vientos’ breakout in 2024 (NY Post)
Playoff Race 🏁
The Mets were off on Monday but the Braves were not, beating the Twins 10-6. As a result, the Mets are now three games behind Atlanta for the final Wild Card in the National League.
There are 31 games remaining.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 17% chance of making the postseason.
New York has the 11th most difficult schedule in MLB the rest of the way.
Tiebreakers:
vs. ATL: 5-5
vs. ARI: 2-2
vs. CIN: 2-1
vs. SD: 5-2 (finished)
vs. STL: 4-2 (finished)
vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)
vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)
vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)
Down on the Farm 🌾
All four Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (68-63) vs. D-backs (75-56)
Where: Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ
Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (9-5, 3.48 ERA) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.94 ERA)
When: 9:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY / MLBN (Out-of-market only)
And it all comes down to this for the Mets… ✍️
It is starting to get late early for the New York Mets.
After a crushing collapse against the Padres on Sunday, it really does feel as though the Mets’ fate will be decided over these next three games in Arizona.
Lose the series - or, even worse, get swept - then the writing will be on the wall as it pertains to New York’s ever-increasingly slim chances of making the postseason.
Their chances of making the playoffs have shrunk to just 17.0% in recent days, per FanGraphs. And that’s well before the end of a season-defining road trip with the clock starting to tick on this rollercoaster season.
In other words, the Mets need to head to Chicago with a series win.
They just have to. No ifs, ands or buts. Nothing but a series win against the Diamondbacks will do now.
Of course, it won’t technically be the end of the world if the Mets do drop the series to Arizona. We still have a whole month of the regular season to go, of course.
But the overall tenor of the season feels different in the wake of what went down in San Diego on Sunday. The way New York surrendered the series will leave a bitter taste in the mouth for weeks to come. Perhaps even months if this team ultimately falls short.
By not throwing the hammer down and getting the job done, the Mets gave up an opportunity to really ramp up the pressure on the Braves, who lost to the Nationals on Sunday.
Instead, Atlanta beat the Twins 10-6 on Monday and is winning games at a high clip despite dealing with a deeply fractured roster and facing adversity all year. No matter that key players have dropped like flies at every turn, the Braves are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are now three games ahead of the Mets.
So, with the Braves doing their best Undertaker impression by refusing to die despite absorbing a slew of near-fatal blows, the Mets now have to be near-perfect the rest of the way.
That seems a tough ask given that New York has been widely inconsistent since the All-Star break. This team is 19-17 in the second-half of the year and has followed up exhilarating highs with crushing lows.
They beat the tar out of the Padres twice, only to drop one clunker and then totally collapse like a cheap pack of cards in the game that really mattered.
They got swept by the Mariners and went 3-3 against the A’s and the Marlins, only to take two out of three from an elite Orioles team.
Go figure, right?
Now, after having their soul snatched away from them by the Padres on Sunday, the Mets face the daunting task of going into Arizona to face a team that has won six straight and 34-12 since July 3.
And they do so knowing that going on another consistent hot streak will be key if they are to extend their season into October.
Sure, the Mets have already guaranteed that they will play meaningful games deep into September. But, if they want to play incredibly important games beyond that when it really matters, being inconsistent won’t get the job done.
And how these three games unfold in Arizona should make the Mets’ postseason fate a lot clearer.
It is starting to get late, and the New York Mets must rise to the occasion against the D-backs or else see their postseason hopes take another fatal blow that may be hard to come back from.
Around the League 🚩
Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen became the first player in MLB history to play in the same game for both teams after appearing in the continuation of a suspended game against old team the Blue Jays on Monday
Aaron Judge didn’t homer on Monday but he did rob one, pulling off an insane homer-saving grab with his glove to help the Yankees beat the Nationals, 5-2
Bryce Harper hit a game-winning, walk-off single in the 10th inning as the Phillies edged past the Astros
The Royals swept a crucial doubleheader against the Guardians on Monday, thanks in large to Salvador Perez’s two home runs, which included a grand slam
Dansby Swanson and Miguel Amaya each had four RBIs and two runs scored as the Cubs shelled the Pirates by a football score of 18-8
As you say, it comes down to this. On Broadway, they'd say to the Mets, curtain up, light the lights, we've got nothing to do but hit the heights!
Mets are 15-15 in their last 30. I think that what we are. The bats aren’t consistent enough and the BP is 🍑. I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be at the game tomorrow to hopefully see a win!