The New York Mets continue to have a major say in the NL wild card race after taking two out of three from the Miami Marlins.

Some great starting pitching and timely offense led the way for the Mets at LoanDepot Park, helping to take down a team in the thick of the battle for a spot in the postseason.

The two victories in Miami helped New York improve to 71-81 on the year, and this team could continue to wreak havoc in the playoff picture given that their remaining 10 games all come against the Marlins and the Phillies.

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Making A Case

José Butto continues to prove that he could be a nice depth piece in the rotation for the Mets in 2024. The righty put together an absolute gem of a start on Monday, providing six strong and really impressive innings. Butto was nearly unhittable as he held the Marlins to just one run on four hits while walking one and striking out six. He did enter into some trouble in the fifth after putting runners on the corners, but he was able to induce a double play to escape the inning without incurring any damage. Butto has now allowed two runs or fewer in his last three outings. He boasts a stellar 2.08 ERA since returning to the majors, and he is one of a handful of Mets presenting a strong case to earn a more full-time role in 2024.

McNeil To The Rescue  

It isn’t how you start, but how you finish that really counts. Overcoming a slow start to finish strong really does reveal the full character of a person. This hasn’t been a vintage year for Jeff McNeil by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s making sizeable contributions and coming up with big plays down the stretch. The veteran has been red-hot in September, and his fingerprints can be found all over the series win in Miami. McNeil went 5-for-12 with a double, a homer, and a walk against the Marlins, with his 10th home run of the year sealing the win in the series opener on Monday. He also flashed his versatility in this series, shifting to right field on Wednesday because of the injury to DJ Stewart. The result? More defensive magic from the two-time All-Star. McNeil collected two outfield assists in a single inning, including a stunning, inch-perfect one-hop throw to nab Jorge Soler and end the inning.

McNeil has developed a reputation as a swiss-army knife-type player, and his versatility and general excellence out in the field will no doubt excite incoming president of baseball operations David Stearns. Stearns will also no doubt be thrilled to see McNeil finishing the year on a tear, with the 31-year-old now hitting .282/.329/.521/.850 with three doubles, one triple, four homers, six RBIs, a stolen base and three walks in September. That’s called being productive.

Power Ranger

We raved about Mark Vientos showing us something in this space earlier in the week. Now, it is time to marvel over the rookie’s pure power. Vientos has seemingly dug deep and discovered another level to his game, one that could help elevate his talents to the next level. The 23-year-old is now getting regular playing time, mostly against legit teams in the playoff hunt, and he’s paying back that faith by flashing every inch of his scary power potential. Vientos smacked two homers in the series finale against the Marlins on Wednesday, the first multi-homer game of his major league career. His first long ball left the bat at 100.7 mph and gave the Mets the lead. His second home run, however, was more impressive as it traveled a massive 417 feet at 109.2 mph. Not only did that effort stretch the Mets’ lead, but Vientos now sits fifth in MLB average exit velocity leaders (min. 100 balls in play) with a 93.6 mark.

The four above him in that list? Matt Olson (94.1), Shohei Ohtani (94.4), Ronald Acuña Jr. (94.7) and Aaron Judge (97.1). Now, that’s some impressive company. It also continues an impressive stretch for Vientos, who now owns a five-game hitting streak and is 8-for-20 with four RBIs in that span. And, with his monster game on Wednesday, Vientos is gradually showing that he could be the long-term answer to finally provide the kind of raw, brutal power from the DH spot that the Mets have long craved.

DJ Stewart. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

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Bad Practice

The Mets must have really annoyed the Baseball Gods in a past life because they continue to be cursed when it comes to being hit by pitches. The latest victim? DJ Stewart. But, to add insult to injury, Stewart got plunked on the left wrist during batting practice before Wednesday’s game. He wasn’t even hit by an opponent. As a result, the feel-good story of the year for the Mets sat out the game, with the X-rays returning negative. You hope that a sore left wrist doesn’t keep Stewart out of the lineup for long as he looks to finish strong down the homestretch and further prove why he should have a key role on this team in 2024.

Brain Fart

It happens to the best of us. We’re in our flow, getting the job done and then, bang, our brains suffer from a temporary malfunction, and everything collapses like a cheap pack of cards. Luckily, for most of us, the consequences aren’t important. For Joey Lucchesi, however, his brain fart cost his team big time on Tuesday night. Coming off a stellar seven-inning start in his last outing, Lucchesi was looking to continue on his upward trend. He certainly started in that direction, but then disaster struck in the fifth as the lefty threw a sacrifice bunt to an unoccupied third base. It allowed a run to score, a run that proved to be costly. And then it was over to the bullpen to choke yet again, with Trevor Gott entering the game in the bottom of the ninth, only to put runners on and eventually give up the winning run. Lucchesi didn’t have a bad outing, but his one mistake ended up really hurting the Mets, who were denied the chance to go for a sweep.

Get It Done

This was another series that ended up being dominated by talk of Pete Alonso‘s future. With reports surfacing that the star slugger wants a 10-year deal and that the two sides are apart in talks, general manager Billy Eppler came out and tried to shut down the noise. Look, at this point, get a freaking extension done. Alonso should be a huge part of this team’s future. Period. Eppler and the front office have fumbled the bag on this one from day one, and all the gossip is proving to be more damaging at this point. The Mets need to lead with actions, do the right thing and give their homegrown star the contract he deserves, and finally shut down all the negative noise in the process. It has gone too far now.

The Mets continue their road trip by heading to Philadelphia for a four-game set against another playoff hopeful in the Phillies. The series opens on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.