What Mets would need to do to turn nice stretch into a miracle playoff run
“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.”— Lloyd Christmas, “Dumb & Dumber.” Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.Admit it, Mets fans.
You have at least considered the possibility, unlikely as it may seem, as the Mets have ripped off 11 wins in 15 games after a trade deadline sell-off.They have won four of their last five series and have injected a bit of life into what had been a miserable season.It will take an enormous run to even be in contention in mid-September.
The Mets still trail the Padres by 10 games for the third and final NL wild-card spot, and six other teams are ahead of them.To reach 84 wins, the number of victories the final wild-card team secured a year ago, the Mets would need to go 26-8.
That’s a .764 winning percentage, an extraordinarily tall order.Let’s take a look at the schedule the rest of the way.The Mets have the seventh-most difficult remaining strength of schedule, their opponents owning a combined .520 winning percentage.
It includes 12 games against division leaders (White Sox and Rays on the road, Brewers and Astros at home).There is also the Subway Series against the Yankees in The Bronx, and four more with the contending Phillies at Citi Field.
Of the 34 games left, 18 are on the road, where the Mets are seven games under .500.The good news: The Mets have performed better of late against quality teams.Since the All-Star break, they have taken series from the Phillies, Padres and NL East-leading Braves.There are soft spots coming up at Citi Field against the last-place Giants (Sept.
4-6) and under-.500 Orioles and Pete Alonso (Sept.14-16).
Plus, the Mets close the year out against two teams, the Rangers and Nationals, who are under .500 as well.Since interim manager Andy Green took over June 26, replacing Carlos Mendoza, the Mets have played better baseball.They are 24-23 in that span, as young players li...