While the cross-town rival Yankees are currently streaking and were capable of getting out of their own hole, the New York Mets lost a crucial game on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays and now need to string lots of victories together if they want to advance to the playoffs.
For the 2020 shortened season, MLB and the players’ association agreed to expand playoffs to eight teams per league: the top two clubs in each division will advance to October baseball, plus two other Wild Card teams.
Right now, the New York Mets boast a 21-26 record, which in the National League East only tops the Washington Nationals (17-28.)
The Mets are seven games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves (28-19), 3.5 games behind the Miami Marlins (23-21) and three games behind the Philadelphia Phillies (23-22).
How do the Mets’ chances look?
Reaching second place is a plausible goal, with 13 games back, but it would be very difficult to achieve. As far as the Wild Card is concerned, the New York Mets have several other teams in different divisions to worry about: the Milwaukee Brewers (20-24) and Cincinnati Reds (21-26) in the Central and the San Francisco Giants (23-24) and the Colorado Rockies (21-25) in the West.
Right now, the Phillies and Giants would be the two Wild Card teams advancing to October baseball.
“We’re still right there,†third baseman Todd Frazier said to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “But we’ve got to win more games.†Frazier also stated that “crazier things can happen,†which certainly speaks about the now-improbable task at hand.
For now, the New York Mets will begin a three-game series against the Phillies on Tuesday. A sweep will be greatly beneficial, but winning two out of three could also work if they can take every remainder series. Dropping two or three against the Phils would be a dagger for the Mets’ hopes.