NL Wild Card Standings: Mets get another favor from the extinguished Diamondbacks

A woeful performance from the New York Mets on Tuesday felt worse than it actually was. A score of 5-1 is never too difficult to overcome. Perhaps it was because of the opponent or the feel of the game that had this one appearing much more out of reach than it logically ever was. The Mets mustered only 4 hits, a pair by Mark Vientos with his solo home run accounting for the lone run of the game. A win for the Atlanta Braves kept the Mets’ magic number at 5 and helped Atlanta inch closer to a playoff spot.

If you thought the Mets had it bad on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks pitching gave up a touchdown, extra point, and two safeties without crossing the plate once. An 11-0 loss now has them facing the possibility of the Braves passing them in the NL Wild Card standings.

The Mets were bad, the Diamondbacks were much worse

Four innings from Luis Severino was close to the nightmare scenario. It’s not that the Mets bullpen is bad. It’s how shallow it is these days. A pitcher like Ryne Stanek has yet to fully earn anyone’s trust. He, along with guys such as Huascar Brazoban, are capable of being much better than they have been. Certainly a tier above Adam Ottavino and Danny Young these days, Carlos Mendoza can only work with what he has. It’s not a whole lot.

Diamondbacks fans had a far more miserable experience on Tuesday. Brandon Pfaadt didn’t make it through the third inning where the Giants tacked on 6 of their runs. Despite the brilliance of their offense, this one was over early.

Arizona seemingly has a chance to pick up the pieces quickly with a pitching matchup of Zac Gallen and Mason Black scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Mets will look for cover as they hope to fight off the rain. The ugly weather forecast over the next few days in Atlanta could wash out the rest of the series which’ll have us all on edge to see how MLB reschedules these games. They’re going to matter.