Potentially lost amidst the current struggles that have seen the Yankees’ AL East lead dwindle from 15 ½ games at one point down to as low as four prior to Sunday’s win is the Mets’ own late-season swoon – which has officially become a collapse.
Thanks to the Mets’ loss in Pittsburgh and the Braves’ win in Oakland Tuesday night, the two teams entered Wednesday tied for first place in the NL East – the first time the Mets haven’t had sole possession of first place since April 11, which was less than a week into the season.
The swoon is now officially conjuring up memories of 2021, when the Amazins were in first place alone from May 8 to August 5, and no more than a half-game back at any point between April 13 and August 6 – but that team went 20-32 from August 7 on and became the first team in MLB history to spend 100 days in first place and miss the playoffs, while watching the Braves run away with the division and go on to win the World Series.
“We just haven’t been able to mount much offensively,” manager Buck Showalter said after Tuesday’s loss, the third straight six-run loss to a last-place team. “It catches your attention because it’s been so good for so long. Guys are frustrated right now because they know they’re capable of better.”
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The Mets have lost three in a row since Saturday while the Braves have won three straight since then, erasing what was a three-game lead entering Labor Day weekend. The good news is that the Mets have the easiest schedule in MLB over their final 26 games, and need to win just one game of their three-game set with Atlanta at the end of the month to win the season series and thus the tiebreaker in the division.
Still, per Elias Sports Bureau, the Mets are the eighth team since divisional play began in 1969 to have a 10-game division lead or better and have another team either tie or overtake them at any point…which means even with the tiebreaker, they still have to be no worse than even with Atlanta.
And getting those wins are what Showalter is focused on – not the Braves.
“I’m not asleep, but I don’t look at that,” he said prior to Wednesday’s game. “I look at us, because it’s about us, the Mets.”
Showalter also said he was looking at “Claudio’s last outing,” meaning Alex Claudio, who was added to the MLB roster ahead of Wednesday’s doubleheader. He was added with Max Scherzer going on the IL (Adonis Medina was DFA), and with Scherzer now out for two weeks and Taijuan Walker leaving Tuesday due to a blister that has his next start TBD, the Mets’ rotation is once again jumbled.
Something has to step up sooner or later, whether it be offense, pitching, or both, or else it will be back-to-back years the Mets will be, to paraphrase George Steinbrenner on Dave Winfield, Mr. May through September and behind the eight-ball in October.
“We’re still in good spirits. It’s a long season, and teams go through these stretches. It’s part of the game,” Walker said. “We know what we have to do. We are a good team. We have been a good team all year.”
All that’s left is to do it.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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