NL Wild Card Standings: Mets bats clobber, Braves get chopped up

All we wanted this year was relevant New York Mets baseball in August, September, and hopefully October, too. The latest developments in the NL Wild Card standings are a positive trend. The Mets were able to win 2 of 3 against the Colorado Rockies and have now turned their road trip into a 4-3 adventure thus far. They’ve taken care of their business. The same cannot be said of the Atlanta Braves who got all chopped up on Thursday.

While the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres continue to play amazing baseball and might actually challenge for the NL West crown, the Braves have dropped 5 in a row and are now a half game behind the Mets for the third Wild Card spot.

It’s never nice to wish ill on others. We’ll make an exception for the Braves.

NL Wild Card Standings as of 8/9/2024 feature the Mets over the Braves

San Diego Padres 64-52 +2.5
Arizona Diamondbacks 63-53 +1.5
New York Mets 61-54
Atlanta Braves 60-54 0.5 behind
St. Louis Cardinals 59-57 2.5 behind

The Braves have hit a rough patch for sure and are trending in the wrong direction. As bad as their series was against the Milwaukee Brewers with a finale that saw them get sliced apart, there is a whole lot of baseball left and plenty that can happen between now and the final whistle.

San Diego and Arizona are far from safe. Peaking too early isn’t on their wish list. The way the Diamondbacks haven’t missed a beat since losing Christian Walker to the IL and the aggressiveness the Padres attacked the trade deadline to bolster their bullpen has all of the momentum falling their way.

Mets fans know better than to do a victory dance. We play the Seattle Mariners while the Braves take over in the visitor’s dugout at Coors Field to play the Colorado Rockies. About to embark on a lengthy road trip of their own, it’ll take them for three against Colorado, four against the San Francisco Giants, and a three-game series to finish it off versus the Los Angeles Angels. All seemingly winnable games, their 7-12 record after the All-Star Break is largely the result of two mishaps.

The 5.06 ERA from Braves pitchers is the second-worst among NL teams in the second-half. The Washington Nationals are worse. The pride of the ball club this season, it’s not their only issue. Hitting just .227/.298/.420 with a MLB-leading 203 strikeouts (and in fewer games than some other teams), we find ourselves a team without much working in their favor. They have frustratingly hit 33 home runs (second to only the Diamondbacks in the second-half) yet that seems to be all they’re capable of doing well. Scoring 72 total times with 33 home runs is a pretty bad ratio. The Mets have scored 95 times in the second-half on the backs of 25 home runs.

The story of the NL Wild Card, at least today, isn’t about the Mets doing anything special. It’s about the damage done to the Braves who, for a change, aren’t so unstoppable. There is plenty of blame to go around. A bullpen of pitchers without minor league options, a lineup dependent on guys playing almost every day, and a lack of improvements at the trade deadline should help the Mets out a lot as long as they do their part.

Mets pitchers have a 3.32 ERA in the second-half and the team is hitting .254/.325/.421. Much better in both regards compared to the NL East foe, we’ll cherish every hour we get in a playoff spot and the Braves out of it.