There are two ways to look at how the New York Mets’ stay in the nation’s capital went this week:

  • They suffered an excruciating loss (on multiple levels) that could’ve very easily been the exclamation point on yet another lost season.
  • They actually won two of three games, and while it didn’t necessarily help them in the wild-card standings heading into Thursday’s off day, the season is far from over.

Mickey Callaway’s reaction to Tuesday’s walk-off loss didn’t lead the best reactions from onlookers, but I was actually OK with it. He didn’t need to throw a huge fit to remind players just how bad of a loss this was. It was terrible, but at the same time, it’s just one game. It has the potential to be a back-breaking one, throwing all the progress the Mets made up to this point down the toilet, but only if they let it.

As much as they would’ve liked to, Callaway and the Mets couldn’t erase the terrible ending that just occurred. They do have the power to learn from what happened and focus on the future. Tuesday’s loss would’ve been 10-times worse if it snowballed into another loss Wednesday afternoon, forcing New York to use the off day to stew on not only losing in dramatic fashion, but to also losing the series.

Is the deficit and number of teams ahead of the Mets in the NL wild-card race too much to overcome during the final weeks of the regular season? That’s a possibility. However, the mindset they used to get right back to business and dust off Tuesday’s loss like nothing happened is the only way they’ll give themselves a chance as we continue creeping closer toward Game 162.

What New York was just able to accomplish — bouncing back from a gut-wrenching loss and win the next day like nothing happened — sounded familiar to me. That was because it’s basically what the Nationals did in mid-August when they faced the Mets at Citi Field in a head-to-head matchup that felt a little like 2015 all over again.

The Mets entered that matchup 2.5 games behind Washington in the wild-card standings, but just a half-game out of the final spot. They proceeded to win the first two contests in thrilling fashion — the first including a four-run ninth from the Mets that led to Michael Conforto’s jersey getting ripped off, and the second including Luis Guillorme’s first big-league homer.

That pair of late-game losses, which came at the hands of an underperforming bullpen, is enough to get any team down in the dumps, especially it’s in the middle of a playoff race. But instead of rolling over and allowing the Mets to sweep the series and gain even more momentum, they salvaged the final game before skipping town. What happened between then and the next time they faced the Mets is what New York needs to do now — Washington went on a run.

The Nats faced the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, and Miami Marlins before playing the Mets again this week. All they proceeded to do was go 15-3 during this stretch to continue strengthening their playoff positioning.

It’s tough to ask the Mets to go on yet another huge run after doing such a month ago, but they need to do some version of one over this upcoming 10-game homestand. They’ll be welcoming the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Los Angeles Dodgers to Flushing, so it won’t exactly be easy. At least New York will be home, where they’ve found much more success from a win-loss standpoint (37-27) than they have on the road (34-41).

There have been many moments where it’s felt as if an upcoming stretch of games could potentially define the Mets’ season. The stretch they’re currently staring straight at, though, could be the final one. The wild-card standings have cleared up enough where the Mets are now hanging on by a thread. If they want to make the last two weeks of regular-season play mean something, it all depends on how the next 10 days shakes out.

Tuesday’s loss was terrible in every way. But if they can somehow use it as a springboard — like what the Nats did last month in a similar(ish) situation — that loss could end up looking like a positive turning point instead of a negative one.