The 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday marked a lethal blow to the Mets’ postseason aspirations. The team fell to 80-76 and although it was tied by the Cincinnati Reds in the record, it lost the direct tiebreaker. This means that the Reds now occupy the third National League Wild Card spot and have full control of their destiny.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets were officially out of the playoff zone for the first time since April 5. Since then, they had maintained a constant presence in the postseason picture, but their decline in the second half was so marked that they now depend on a combination of other results to get back into the conversation.
What happened to the Mets after the All-Star Game?
The Mets’ decline began after the All-Star break following a solid start with a 55-42 record, the team has posted a poor 25-33 since then. August was especially critical with a record of 11-17 and September has not been much better, accumulating 7-11 through the 12th of this month.
Meanwhile, the Reds have not been overwhelming either, but they have been stable enough, they are 10- in September and have maintained the pace needed to take advantage of New York’s decline. The difference has been in the key moments where Cincinnati has been able to close games, while the Mets have let valuable victories slip away.
What’s next for the Mets and what are their playoff options?
The season began with high expectations for the Mets following the multi-million dollar acquisition of Juan Soto. The gamble was clear: to put together a World Series-caliber team. However, despite the outfielder’s good performance, the rest of the team failed to maintain the consistency needed to compete until the end.
Now, with only six games remaining on the schedule, the outlook is bleak. Mathematical elimination is not yet official, but the sporting reality is difficult because the Mets need an almost perfect combination of their own wins and other teams’ losses to miraculously sneak into October.
Read the full article here
