09/04/20 Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets at Yankee Stadium New York Mets left fielder Jeff McNeil #6 reacts after making poping up in the 8th inning tonight Neil Miller The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com copyright 2020
The Mets entered tonight on a serious high note with a walk off win over the Yankees in their back pocket knowing the Phils were coming to town. They are a team that they will play 7 times in the next 2 weeks and they MUST make the most out of these games especially since the Phils swept a three game series from the Mets in Philly a few weeks ago.
But on this night we saw so many of the issues this team has been suffering from all year. Mistakes like a bases loaded hit batsmen by Jared Hughes or a dropped throw by Dominic Smith or Andres Gimenez getting picked off. You simply can not keep making these mistakes and expect to move up in the standings.
And on this night, the Mets actually did get a representative start by Rick Porcello and actually tied the game on a homer off the bat of Michael Conforto but they could not hold the Phils down once this became a bullpen game which is a theme we have seen all season long.
Make no mistake about it–the next 2 games at Citi with Seth Lugo and Jacob deGrom are absolute must wins as they simply can not let the Phils leave town with the Mets buried in their rear view mirror. And they must understand the simple things matter like not handing out walks like candy on Halloween because that will come back to bite you as it has all season long.
This 2020 Met season is at a crossroads and these next 11 games will tell the story. Three more versus the Phils here and then 2 at home vs Orioles followed by 3 against the Jays and three against the Phils on the road. And in my humble opinion they must go 8-3 to have any chance in this playoff race. That means take 2 of the next 3 vs Phils, sweep 2 from the Orioles and they win 2 out of 3 against both the Jays and Phils on the road. Anything less than 8-3 and the math might be far too tough for a playoff run.
09/04/20 Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets at Yankee Stadium New York Mets left fielder Jeff McNeil #6 reacts after making poping up in the 8th inning tonight Neil Miller The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com copyright 2020 09/04/20 Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets at Yankee Stadium Philadelphia Phillies score after New York Mets relief pitcher Jared Hughes #35 hits a batter in the 8th inning with bases loaded Neil Miller The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com copyright 2020 09/04/20 Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets at Yankee Stadium New York Mets left fielder Jeff McNeil #6 makes a throw in the 8th inning that New York Mets first baseman Dominic Smith #2 makes an error on leading to a run for the Philadelphia Phillies 09/04/20 Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets at Yankee Stadium New York Mets relief pitcher Jared Hughes #35 pitches in tonights game Neil miller The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com copyright 2020 09/04/20 Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets at Yankee Stadium New York Mets shortstop Andres Gimenez #60 reacts after being picked off 1st base tonight Neil Miller The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com copyright 2020
The time is now–this team is in a Defcon moment in this truncated season and it is time to put up or shut up. A record of 17-22 must get transformed into 32-28 by season’s end and that means they must go 15-6 in the final 21 games of the season. That is why 8-3 in their next 11 is an absolute must. And if if they do that, they still must in my view go 7-3 in the final ten games to get to that 32 win number which I think will be needed for a playoff berth.
That is the run the Mets MUST start here on Saturday Night at Citi.