Two weeks ago, the Mets talked about the tough test that lay ahead, and the opportunity in front of them to prove themselves as a playoff contender as they geared up to play 13 straight games against the prolific Giants and Dodgers.
New York, starting to scuffle at the time, appeared to be in a make-or-break part of the season, having fallen out of first place for the first time in three months and looking to get back on track against two of baseball's best.
That important stretch came to a close on Thursday night, and it ended with another loss to San Francisco, concluding a 2-11 performance and a complete dud in what was a pivotal point in the season.
Now, with just over a month to go and a gaping 7.5 game deficit in the NL East standings, the always-optimistic Mets are trying to run it back.
"The next five weeks are gonna be the most important time of the year for us," Pete Alonso said after Thursday's loss. "It's been really nice having Francisco [Lindor] and Javy [Beaz] back, and I feel like now that we're having our guys back in the lineup consistently on a day in and day out basis, it's gonna be there."
The results certainly weren't there over the last two weeks. The scuffling offense managed just four runs over the final three games of this stretch, a narrative that has lingered since shortly after the All-Star break. But the narrative of relentless positivity has remained as well, though that confidence is likely starting to fall on deaf ears among Mets fans, who have heard the same battle cries for weeks but haven't seen different results.
"We were always one pitch away or one swing away, or one baserunning advancement away," Alonso said. "There was always that one little thing in every single game, and I feel like we were playing right with them the entire time. A lot of the wins don't really reflect that, but I feel like we were in a ton of close ballgames. We were right there with them, stride-for-stride."
Playing close doesn't mean much for New York right now, only results. And the results show a team that has gone 14-26 in the second half of the season. The Mets clearly aren't looking at that stat line when assessing their play of late, instead looking at the level of fight they feel they put up, even if that fight rarely was enough to get a victory.
"We kept a lot of games close," manager Luis Rojas said. "We didn't come up with the big hit, and our opponents came up with the big hit when they were in that situation…that happened a lot of these games. Those are two really good teams.
"The confidence is there. all those guys, the confidence is there, go play hard every day. Like you said, there's five weeks left, and anything can happen in those five weeks."
Now the Mets begin a new, much softer, stretch, facing the lowly National and Marlins 14 straight times before hosting the Yankees in mid-September. Just like the team did a couple weeks ago, it is looking at the upcoming stretch as a chance to prove itself, though this time, even an improved performance might not be enough to save the season. But judging by the Mets' optimism in the midst of a brutal stretch, they don't believe their playoff hopes are fading so fast.
"I'm really excited for these next five weeks," Alonso said. "This is a huge test for us, not just as a team, but as individuals as well. We can't fold. We can't back down. Despite whatever the standings are, we have to go full speed ahead regardless of what happened every day previously in the season."
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