Mets Head To Philly With Very Remote Playoff Chances By Rich Coutinho Met Beat Reporter @The New York Extra.com

After losing 2 of 3 in Buffalo against the Toronto Blue Jays the Met playoff hopes took a hit for one simple reason: they got help on the out of town score board all weekend but could not take advantage with losses on Saturday and Sunday.

Right now the muddled wild card standings have them 2 games behind the Giants for that final wild card spot with the Brewers, Reds, and Rockies vying for that spot as well. And right now the Phils own that first wild card spot as the Marlins passed them in NL East standings.

Today the Marlins and Phils complete their 7 game series and should the Phils lose again to the pesky Marlins the Mets could climb to within 2 and a half games of the Phils with a head to head 3 game series with them slated to start Tuesday night.

With 13 games left the schedule gets tougher for the Mets as after the series in Philly the Mets come home to tangle with the Braves and Rays for 6 games. Then they finish the season with 4 games in DC against the Nationals. I would think the Mets at the bare minimum need to be .500 and that means 9-4 in their last 13 games with a 10-3 record likely needed for a playoff invite.

Todd Frazier said it best after Sunday’s game when he commented, “The tough part is we can win games and not move closer because we need help but we have to go to Philly and start piling up wins. A 10-3 record in our last 13 will help.”

Todd is right on target as the Met playoff chances are in crisis mode. But all you can do is make it harder on the teams you are chasing by putting together a winning streak. The problem that concept of a winning streak is something that has eluded the Mets throughout this entire truncated 60 game season.