For a team looking to make the playoffs, the Mets’ last three games have been eye-opening: They were swept in Seattle, conceding 22 points to 1.
And since sweeping the Yankees in the Subway Series and then beating the Braves to open their next series at Citi Field, the Mets are 6-9.
Worse still, their record against teams above .500 is 29-37, nearly the worst of any team still in the postseason race.
What happens next?
Luckily for the Mets, they have two consecutive series against the current last-place teams at Citi Field: The A’s come to Queens on Tuesday, followed by the Marlins.
However, the A’s are 14-8 since July 14 and are no longer the laughing stock that many expected them to be in their final season in Oakland.
Still, the Mets are fighting to stay in the playoff race and are aware of the task ahead of them this week.
“This is a good opportunity,” said Francisco Lindor after Sunday’s defeat in the upcoming home game. “We have to make the most of it.”
They believe they can, despite their inability to compete against what Lindor called “playoff-like pitching” in Seattle.
“We have a good group here,” Luis Severino said. “I know we’re going through a difficult period right now, (but) the guys have been in this situation before. It’s nothing new. We just have to figure out what’s going on.”
And for a team with postseason aspirations, their inability to beat teams that also have a chance to play in October is one of the things the Mets need to figure out.
The Mets can hardly afford a slip-up at Citi Field this week as they are locked in a battle with Atlanta, San Francisco and St. Louis for the final NL wild-card spot.
“Right now, I don’t care how close or far we are,” Severino said of the playoff standings. “We just have to keep going. We have to win games.”
For now, they will try to hold their own against the A’s and Marlins, two teams that have played poorly all season and are weaker after the transfer deadline.
They must respond to being completely outplayed by a Mariners team that is storming up the AL wild-card standings.
“You can’t dwell on what happened,” Lindor said of the series win. “We have a good team. We have to keep pushing and keep trying to get better. Focus on what you did right, learn from what you did wrong and come back and play better.”
Things weren’t going well in Seattle, but Lindor had the bigger picture in mind.
“We know we’re still in a good position to achieve our goal of making the playoffs,” the shortstop said. “We have to compete. We’ve put ourselves in a position where we’re in the race for the playoffs. We have to stay there no matter what happens.”
And that means staying positive despite the recent downturn.
“We have to protect what we have here, protect the atmosphere,” Lindor said.
According to Lindor, this includes “talking to each other and understanding that this is part of baseball.”
“I’ve been saying all along, this is a wave,” Lindor said. “There are good waves and there are bad waves. We need to find a good wave pretty soon. We need to. We need to get on a good wave as soon as possible. Hopefully it starts on Tuesday and we ride it as long as we can.”
— Additional reporting by Mike Puma in Seattle
