On Sunday the Mets were hammered by the Braves despite a strong pitching effort from Rick Porcello as their offense stalled and the bullpen gave up a ton of insurance runs to the Braves in the late innings.
So with 7 games left in the season the Met playoff hopes come down to this–they pretty much have to run the table AND get help as the now trail a number of teams for that final wild card spot. The Reds, Giants, and Brewers are all in a virtual tie for that last position and the Mets trail each of them by 2 and a half games. They also trail the Phils by 3 games for the first wild card spot.
Clearly a steep hill to climb and Brandon Nimmo acknowledged that after the game when he said, “We pretty much need to run the table. We could possibly lose one more but no more than that,”
This game was an illustration of the Met issues this year as they could really never get all of the aspects of their team–hitting, pitching and defense–hot and that has prevented them from compiling any big winning streaks. They got a great start from Rick Porcello yesterday but the bats were quiet and the bullpen put wood on the fire. Ironically, an actual fire erupted behind the outfield fence and I think it symbolized the volatility of the Met bullpen which has had its share of awful moments in this truncated 2020 season.
As a result the Mets will be put in the position of having to treat each of their final 7 games as must-wins knowing even if they accomplish that, they will need outside help to get an invite to MLB’s post-season party.
