3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Drop Series to Phillies As Playoff Odds Continue Shrinking

On a weekend when the Atlanta Braves were playing the league-best San Francisco Giants, the Mets had a golden opportunity to pick up wins against a division rival. Not only did the Mets lose the first two games of the series before salvaging Sunday’s final contest, but the Phillies rubbed salt in the wound, as the Phils inched closer to first place themselves.

While the NL East is basically a two-team race now, the most diehard of diehard fans may say otherwise. The Mets have 12 games remaining on the calendar, and essentially need to win every game to have any shot at winning the division. Well, crazier things have happened, right? The 2007 Colorado Rockies won 14 of their final 15 regular-season games en route to winning the National League pennant. For the Mets to get a spot in the NLDS, they’ll have to pull off a similar streak while facing several very good teams; the Red Sox, Brewers, and Braves still remain on New York’s schedule.

While the weekend against the Phillies was mostly a letdown, the thrilling Sunday night victory gave the team some momentum heading into Tuesday’s game in Boston.

3 Up

Jeff McHits

On a weekend when the Mets offense scored just nine runs across three full games, Jeff McNeil was one of the teams best hitters despite being down toward the bottom of the lineup. Against the Phillies this past weekend, McNeil went 3-for-9 with two runs scored, including the game-winning homer in Sunday’s victory. Leading off the seventh inning, McNeil blasted a ball over the right-center field fence to put the Mets up 3-2, which ended up being the final score. The solo shot was McNeil’s first home run since August 1.

Keep it 1.00 

Aaron Loup continues to be one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball this season. After 1 1/3 scoreless innings on Sunday, Loup’s season ERA now sits at an incredible, and a very even, 1.00. His latest appearance saw him enter the game with two runners on base and two outs. After walking Bryce Harper to load the bases, Loup got J.T. Realmuto to ground out to shortstop, who got the force play at second to end the frame. In the eighth, Loup allowed just one single, otherwise retiring the three other batters he faced. Since July 5, Loup has allowed just one run – back on August 29 against the Nationals. His ERA since that scoreless July 5 outing is a miniscule 0.30.

Saved by the Trumpets

Entering a one-run ball game, Edwin Diaz proved many Met fans wrong by shutting the door in the ninth inning on Sunday. After hitting Freddy Galvis with a pitch and striking out Jean Segura, there was only one more out to record. But to finish the job, Diaz had to face NL MVP-favorite Harper, who represented the go-ahead run. After sending a ball to deep left field, Jeff McNeil caught the ball as it died just before reaching the warning track. What was so close to another unthinkable collapse turned into another epic Diaz save, as the Mets got a badly needed victory to cap off the weekend.

Diaz also pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the first game of this series, although he entered the ballgame when the Mets were already trailing, 4-3.

3 Down

Inability to Score Runs

The Mets’ pitching staff was far from ineffective this weekend. In fact, they allowed 11 runs in three games. But the reason they were almost swept is because this lineup has simply not been producing. And in the rare times that the lineup does piece together a few clutch hits, the inning ends before the rally can be complete. Case in point happened on Friday evening. The Mets entered the inning down 4-1, but cut the lead to 4-3 after three doubles from Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto, and Kevin Pillar. But with the tying runner on second base, James McCann then struck out to end the frame. On both Friday and Saturday, the lineup went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning, not allowing for any type of late magic to happen. Offensive ineptitude has been a theme for the Mets all season, but it was especially noticeable in these crushing defeats to Philadelphia.

First-Inning Troubles Continue for Cookie

I believe Carlos Carrasco is still a very good MLB pitcher. But for some crazy reason, he has been unable to find success in the first inning of most games this season. This was proven true again on Saturday, when Jean Segura lined a homer to left center, giving the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead. Carrasco’s 14.40 first-inning ERA is alarming. It’s especially shocking considering that in no other inning does Carrasco have an ERA higher than 4.00. Harper also collected a single in the first but was retired on a double play by the next batter.

Of the nine home runs Carrasco has allowed in 2021, seven have come in the first inning.

No Gained Ground in NL East 

Astoundingly, the Mets have remained either 5 or 5 1/2 games behind the Braves in the NL East each day since September 9. Obviously, it’s good that the Mets haven’t lost any ground, but it’s frustrating because they didn’t move up in the standings either while the Braves had a four-game losing streak last week.

Even after getting swept by the Cardinals, the Mets still had room for optimism, considering the Braves were headed out west to play the Giants. Meanwhile, the Braves went on to lose two of those three games. A Mets sweep over Philly would have meant just a 3 1/2-game deficit heading into Monday. Instead, the Mets were unable to capitalize on Friday and Saturday, keeping them in the same hole they’ve been stuck in all month. Because the Mets were unable to narrow the Braves’ division lead, it appears New York has absolutely zero margin for error over these final 12 games.