With just over a month left until the end of the regular season, the race to the postseason is now on in earnest, especially in the case of the Mets as they seek the National League wild card. New York is a game and a half out of last place and still has plenty of opportunities to make up ground and qualify for October for the second time in three years.
Let’s take a look at how the top teams still in the race for one of the three wild card spots are doing before the final stages of the season.
Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports
FROM THE OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (65-64, 4GB)
After falling as much as six games below .500 with a 49-55 record on July 25, the San Francisco Giants remain on the fringe of the Wild Card race. Much like their NL West counterparts, they have come out on full steam in the second half, compiling a 16-9 record over their last 25 games and putting themselves in position to play important baseball in September.
After a light schedule in August, the Giants will now face an even more pressing end to the season. Their next two series are on the road against the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers before they face the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Brewers, Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals in September.
NEW YORK METS (67-61, 1.5GB)
The Mets haven’t exactly played their best baseball in August (10-10), but they’re still within reach of the final Wild Card spot and have a huge chance to make up ground on the Padres and Diamondbacks in their next six games.
After a 3-6 series against the Mariners, Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins, the Mets took a series victory over the Orioles with two walk-off home runs before win the first game their 10-game road trip against San Diego on Thursday night.
New York trails the Padres by four and a half games after winning the season series and tiebreaker, with three games remaining at Petco Park this weekend. The Mets will then head to the desert and face Arizona, who they are five games behind in the battle for first place, in a three-game set at Chase Field. It’s almost a do-or-die period for the club, as it largely has its fate in its own hands.
CURRENT PLAYOFF TEAMS
ATLANTA BRAVES (68-59, –)
Considering what the Atlanta Braves have been through in terms of injuries this year, you have to tip your hat to their organization for staying in the race.
Spencer Strider And Ronald Acuña, Jr. both went under in the first months of the season, while players like Ozzie Albies, AJ Minter And Austin Riley either have or will miss a lot of time. Still, despite several long losing streaks, the Braves have held onto one of the three Wild Card spots for most of the year and appear to have found their stride, winning seven of their last ten games.
Atlanta plays at home against the Washington Nationals this weekend before embarking on a six-game road trip against the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies, who they are only six games behind in the race for the NL East.
SAN DIEGO PADRES (72-57, +3)
The Padres have gone an absurd 22-8 since the All-Star break, trailing only the Diamondbacks for the best record during that span. They have a top-five OPS (.788) and wRC+ (124) during that span, in addition to a 3.55 ERA and 3.19 FIP, the latter of which is the best in the league by a wide margin.
San Diego is one of the most versatile teams in the Major League and could have another long postseason run like it did in 2022. FanGraphs currently gives the Padres a 92.4% chance of reaching October, the highest of any club in the NL Wild Card race. They are also just four and a half games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers at the top of the NL West, with three games remaining between the two teams in September.
San Diego may be slacking a bit after losing its last two games by a combined 12 runs to the Twins and Mets, but its schedule will be lighter over the next few weeks as it faces the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (72-56, +3.5)
Honestly, most of what has been said about the Padres can also be attributed to the Diamondbacks. As mentioned above, Arizona went an MLB record 23-8 in the second half, largely due to the offense scoring the most runs in the league during that period (6.32 runs per game).
The Diamondbacks were seven games under .500 on May 31 and had a 46-47 record through July 10. They are now four games behind the Dodgers in their division and are primed to make two straight playoff appearances for the first time since the 2000-01 season and defend their title as National League champions.
Arizona will face the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park this weekend before a crucial seven-game home series against the Mets and Dodgers.
