The body language said it all. The looks on their faces as they made their way into the clubhouse was unmistakable. The silence was deafening.
A weekend that began with such promise, hope and enthusiasm was reduced to a mere whimper after the Los Angeles Dodgers put a huge dent into the New York Mets’ playoff chances by taking two of three from them in front of their hometown crowd at Citi Field.
It’s always tough to find a silver lining after a series loss like this and I’m not going to give you one. But I’m also not going tell you who to blame for yesterday’s loss because the honest truth is that the Mets hung tough with the best team in the National League.
Sunday night’s game was very winnable and Zack Wheeler deserved a better fate after out-dueling the Dodgers’ young right-hander Walker Buehler.
It was unfortunate that Los Angeles mounted their comeback win against relievers Seth Lugo and Justin Wilson, especially because those two are a big reason for the Mets’ second half resurgence in the first place.
“We’ve had some tough times and good times this year,” Seth Lugo told reporters. “We always bounce back and stay fighting. We’ll come out fighting [on Monday] like we always do and keep moving forward.”
While the Mets’ wild card chances suffered a massive blow, all is not lost and they still have a chance to notch that playoff spot although I admit that it may require a miracle of sorts.
With the team now four games out and with only 13 games left to play, the math seems pretty daunting, but a clinch is still within the realm of possibility.
The good news is that the Mets won’t have to worry about tangling with any winning teams over the next three series as they will take on the last-place Colorado Rockies (65-85) for three games beginning tonight, followed by three more against the Cincinnati Reds (70-80), and then returning home to play four games against the Miami Marlins (52-97).
The biggest remaining challenge facing the Mets will be the final three games of the regular season against the first-place Atlanta Braves (93-58) at Citi Field.
Lets take a look at the math…
NL Wild Card Standings
1. Washington Nationals (82-66)
2. Chicago Cubs (81-68)
3. Milwaukee Brewers (80-69) 1 GB
4. New York Mets (77-72) 4 GB
As I mentioned earlier, the odds that the Mets can pull this off are pretty daunting but not impossible.
The Mets do not yet control their destiny and they’re going to need some help from the Brewers and the Cubs to give some meaning to those last three games against the Braves.
If the Cubs or Brewers were to go 7-6 over their last 13 games the Mets would need to go 11-2 to clinch that second wild card, and if they were to go 8-5 the Mets would have to go 12-1.
If either the Cubs or Brewers win nine games it’s pretty much over for the Mets as they would have to win their last 13 games in a row just to draw to a tie. Gulp…
Do the Mets have another miracle left in their pocket? Stay tuned and we’ll find out. LGM
