3 UP

1. Wheeler Got His Chance

Back in 2015, with the potential trade sending Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez, Wheeler called then general manager Sandy Alderson to request he not be traded. He wanted his opportunity to pitch in a pennant race and help the Mets win a World Series. Four years later, he finally got his chance.

Against perhaps the best team in baseball, Wheeler stepped up into the limelight, and he took full advantage of the opportunity he so desperately wanted. Through seven innings, he limited the Dodgers to just one earned on six hits while striking out nine batters. It was the most amount of strikeouts he’s had in the second half.

It wasn’t just the strikeouts, it was the magnitude of them. After Joc Pederson led off the sixth with a double, Wheeler struck out three straight. After Gavin Lux singled to put runners at first and second with one out in the seventh, Wheeler struck out the next two to get out of the jam.

As Wheeler walked off the mound, he showed more emotion than he ever had in a Mets uniform.

After missing two years to Tommy John, Wheeler finally got the chance he had earned. He took full advantage of it, and he gave the Mets a chance. No matter what happens from here on out, Wheeler will always have this moment. If the Mets were smart, his next moment will occur in a Mets uniform.

2. Nearing Another Cy Young

Jacob deGrom faced off against Hyun-Jin Ryu in what was a battle between to Cy Young front runners and what Mets fans had hoped would be an NLDS preview. Neither one disappointed in this pitchers’ duel with each tossing seven scoreless. Ryu would allow one fewer hit, and deGrom would strike out two more.

Arguably, the game further cemented deGrom’s status as the Cy Young front runner.

Right now, deGrom is the only pitcher in the National League who is in the top five in innings pitched, strikeouts, K/9, K/BB, ERA, H/9, WHIP, FIP, ERA+,  fWAR, and bWAR. Really, no matter what stat you look at, deGrom is one of the top pitchers in the game.  As a result, as he closes out this season the way he can, he will be cementing his Cy Young case.

3. Rajai in a Pinch

Controversially, Mickey Callaway went with Rajai Davis over Michael Conforto in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and two outs in a game tied 0-0. Davis justified Callaway’s decision by hitting a bases clearing double to give the Mets a 3-0 victory keeping the Mets Wild Card hopes alive for another day. For the second time this year, Davis would deliver a huge and unexpected extra base hit which would propel the Mets to victory.

On the season, Davis has received limited at-bats, but he has made the most of them driving in six runs in his 13 pinch hitting appearances.

It should be noted his producing in those two huge spots is two more times than just about any of the other “outfield depth” options the Mets carried on the roster all year. Certainly, it gives you pause to think about how much the Mets would’ve been better off if they carried Davis for a full year instead of players like Aaron Altherr, Keon Broxton, and Carlos Gomez.

3 DOWN

1. Proving a Point More Important Than Winning

The stats are all there. Noah Syndergaard has a 5.20 ERA with Wilson Ramos behind the plate and a 2.22 ERA with Tomas Nido and Rene Rivera behind the plate. While CERA is untrustworthy in terms of analysis belying that stat is the fact Ramos cannot frame the low pitch, and Syndergaard needs that pitch to succeed. As a result, he pitches up in the zone more with Ramos behind the plate, and he becomes more hittable.

That’s just what the Dodgers did. They hit Syndergaard scoring four runs off of him over five innings as the Mets needlessly didn’t put their starting pitcher in the best position to succeed.

When you boil it all down, the Mets are built on this starting pitching rotation. With that being the case, you would think the team would do all they could do to put their starters in the best position to win games. When you consider the lack of bench depth and the state of the bullpen, the team cannot succeed unless their starters are at the top of their game.

What makes this all the worse is Special Assistant Jessica Menodza saying during the broadcast the team felt Syndergaard needed the training wheels taken off. This is the last Mets pitcher to win a World Series game. This has been just about the only pitcher in baseball who went toe-to-toe with Madison Bumgarner in a postseason game. If he needs Rivera, give Syndergaard what he needs much like the Braves once gave Greg Maddux, or the Yankees once gave A.J. Burnett.

Instead of realizing this, the Mets thought it better to send a message to Syndergaard at a time when they could ill afford to throw games away.

2. Wilson and Lugo Didn’t Have It

The Mets had a 2-1 lead against the Dodgers heading into the eighth inning. Mickey Callaway had it set up perfectly for the team to go to Justin Wilson before handing the ball to Seth Lugo for the save. If you are the manager, that’s exactly the formula you want.

Unfortunately, Wilson and Lugo didn’t have it. It was the rare night of the season they didn’t. It happens.

When neither one have it, the fact of the matter is the Mets can’t win those games. They don’t have the bench depth to get the key pinch hits, and they don’t have the bullpen depth to bail Wilson and Lugo out.

When those two pitchers don’t have it, there’s no sense in second guessing things or getting upset with them. They’ve been so good for so long, and they’ve given the Mets all they could’ve asked from any reliever. You just tip your cap to them and lament what could’ve been. In the end, that’s the theme for the season, what could’ve been . . . .

3. Dodgers Beat the Mets Best

As we saw with the Dodgers beating Wilson and Lugo, the Dodgers had what it took to beat the Mets could throw at them. That applied not just to the bullpen but also the lineup.

For most of the year, this team has been carried offensively by Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, and Jeff McNeil. That trio combined to go 0-for-25 with two walks and five strikeouts. When that group is combining to be overmatched to that level, the Mets have little to no chance of winning. That is readily apparent when you consider the once hot lineup scored just seven runs in the entire series.

As an aside, for all the talk about needing Ramos’ bat in the lineup, he was 1-for-10 with a walk and three strikeouts in the series.