Don’t take any opponent lightly. That’s what the New York Mets learned this week when the Oakland Athletics won two of three games against them on their home field. A solid comeback win on Friday against a Miami Marlins team that was already auditioning for the 2027 roster helped dispel many of the bad vibes from the day before.
It has become a common occurrence to keep an eye on the scoreboard and learn about the NL Wild Card standings. Every win by the Mets is a step forward. A loss by the teams ahead of them makes the jump even bigger.
On Friday, the three teams ahead of the Mets played against teams with a record below .500. All of them lost.
The win and the Atlanta Braves’ loss put the Mets just one game away from a wild card spot. The Braves lost their opening game against the Los Angeles Angels 3-2, despite apparently having Jo Adell on the payroll.
😳
(above @MLB)pic.twitter.com/pnaPT2Yq92
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) 17 August 2024
Running through first base on a possible double would have been less embarrassing.
Also away from home, the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres 7-3. The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4. That makes three losses. Coincidentally, all of them ended by a single run difference. Reason to hope for a missed opportunity?
A little further down the NL Wild Card standings, the San Francisco Giants won a game with a win over the Athletics. The suddenly significant Cincinnati Reds lost, while the cheating St. Louis Cardinals suffered their fifth straight loss. None of them should be written off just yet. A single good week will put them right in contention for the final playoff spot. They are all just four games behind the Braves.
The Mets can only worry about who they are playing. Every game becomes more and more important. A weekend series against the Marlins is important in two ways. Not only are they playing against a beatable team, but the second tiebreaker for a wild card spot after the head-to-head is a record within the division. The Mets are 21-16 against NL East opponents. We don’t want to miss the playoffs because the Mets couldn’t handle the dregs of the division.
