Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY

The Atlanta Braves are currently the hottest team in baseball, as they hold a 14-game winning streak going into Friday’s action. Since June 1st, while winning, they’ve also managed to grind down the Mets’ lead over the NL East from 10.5 to 4.5 games. In the midst of this 14-game streak by Atlanta, the Mets have shown some spurts of weakness, including a few blowout losses out west. All of this, along with the division lead dwindling has caused some panic within the fan base.

No need to fret, there are silver linings within this rough stretch of baseball. First and foremost, the Mets are still 4.5 games ahead of the Braves and despite the streak and are 8-6 since the streak began. In that span, they have faced teams that are a combined 33 games over the .500 mark (Dodgers, Padres, Angels, plus a game versus the Nationals, who were the only team below .500).

Secondly, during their winning streak, the Braves have faced teams that are a combined 63 games below .500 (the Rockies, Athletics, Nationals, Pirates, and one game against the Diamondbacks). Added to that, the Mets still hold the best record in the National League and sit overall behind the New York Yankees.

In the middle of this, the team is looking forward to the returns of their two ace pitchers in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. In their absence, the rotation has held up enough to keep the team from falling apart including admirable performances from Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Williams, Taijuan Walker, and Tylor Megill. Added a bounce-back effort from Chris Bassitt and clutch performances from the pen and explosions in offense from guys like Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar, the Mets have remained diligent in a rough stretch.

While deGrom and Scherzer are still a slight bit away from returning, adding back the two main anchors for the starting rotation to a club that has been resilient is monumental in keeping the ship afloat.

Coming up, the Mets will face the Marlins and Astros twice to end the month, while Atlanta will have to go against the Giants, Dodgers and the red-hot Phillies. This will be a test for both the Mets and the Braves. To continue the trend and play well against a pesky division rival and the AL West leader is what faces the Mets. For Atlanta, their challenge will be to persevere against two strong NL West teams and a red hot division rival.

Titles aren’t won in June. If the Mets keep the ship above water, things will be just fine. The sky isn’t falling, it’s just raining.