The Mets are getting set to begin a massive weekend series against the streaking Philies, who are nipping at the heels of New York in the NL East, trailing by just a half game.
But Luis Rojas and the Mets are trying not to look at the three-game set as the grand spectacle that many are making it out to be, with two division rivals battling to begin next week in first place, which the Mets have held for the last three months.
"I gotta say no," Rojas said when asked if the upcoming series feels bigger than any other so far this season. "I gotta say it's just as big. Every game is important this season. Our responsibility is to win every game, and there's nothing bigger than tonight's game. We gotta see it like that."
While the Mets have lost seven of their last 10 after dropping three of four to the lowly Marlins, the Phillies have rattled off five straight wins, and welcome the Mets owning all the momentum. But the Mets are ignoring that concept, instead trying to look at the game ahead, and not the series as a whole nor the implications it may have on their playoff hopes.
"If we start seeing more than one game today, that's when we can become a little anxious and just try to do too much," Rojas said. "We can't do anything more than focus on this game tonight. That's the approach we're gonna be taking."
No matter how the Mets choose to see this series, it is a big one in terms of the divisional race. With less than two months to go in the season, New York is beaten up and slumping badly on offense, and with Jacob deGrom no sure thing to return any time soon, wins against the teams chasing them in the standings are imperative, and the Phillies will be a tough out given how they've performed so far this week.
"We know we're facing a team that's gotten very hot lately, and there's some guys swinging a hot bat right now and they're gaining some momentum in the standings, as everyone's aware of the standings," Rojas said. "At this point in August, everyone is kind of more aware how the standings are versus April, May June, or those months.
"Our approach towards how we get prepared shouldn't change. It's tonight's game against Kyle Gibson and their lineup, and nothing more than that. That's how we're approaching it."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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