NL Wild Card standings by remaining strength of schedule: Mets, Braves in a dead heat

The New York Mets lost on Sunday night but guess what? So did just about everyone else they’re competing against in the NL Wild Card standings. Oprah handed out a loss to the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants. The surging Arizona Diamondbacks got a victory as did the suddenly relevant Chicago Cubs.

With a month and a half remaining, one of the important places to always look at is the strength of schedule for every team still alive in the race. This is where strength of schedule plays a factor.

Although imperfect because it doesn’t include home/road, any hot streak, etc., it does give us an idea of the easy street some clubs could have. Timing is also important. The Chicago White Sox to close out the season is much different than having them at the end of August like the Mets do.

NL Wild Card standings by strength of schedule

Here’s how the teams rank. Included are the clubs that are within 3 games of a playoff spot.

Chicago Cubs .483
San Diego Padres .490
New York Mets .497
Atlanta Braves .499
Arizona Diamondbacks .501
San Francisco Giants .508
St. Louis Cardinals .523

The Mets still have one of the easier remaining schedules by a few percentage points. This will quickly evaporate after the upcoming homestand. The Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins are two teams they’ll play and need to win against. The Mets also have to deal with the Baltimore Orioles who have the best record of any team they’ll face for the remainder of the season. Seven more versus the Philadelphia Phillies could determine if they are in or out of the playoffs as well. Philadelphia will have plenty to play for, too.

Although they have the third-easiest schedule based on this formula, it barely beats out the Braves. They also have 7 left against the Phillies but will have to deal with four games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Those games take place a month from now in Atlanta.

Seeing the Cardinals and Giants have two of the more difficult schedules left is positive with how close they are to tickling the hairs on the back of the Mets’ neck. St. Louis has the fourth-toughest remaining schedule in all of baseball. The Giants are tied for eighth.

The Cubs, with the 26th most difficult remaining schedule, are the sneaky team to watch. Elite pitching and underachieving pitching, one of the tougher teams they may luck out by facing the Cleveland Guardians this week. The Guardians haven’t been the same as they were when the Mets faced them. They have the potential to be a real threat to the third Wild Card spot. Why couldn’t someone overpay for Jameson Taillon at the trade deadline and put an end to them?