NL Wild Card Standings: Mets walk-off win, Diamondbacks error-off loss

The Mets got some literal lucky bounces and a wild throw in Denver to help them in the NL Wild Card standings.

Washington Nationals v New York Mets
Washington Nationals v New York Mets / Adam Hunger/GettyImages

It took the New York Mets almost all night to score their first run versus the Washington Nationals on Monday. Yet another night of “when are we going to get a run in?” from the Mets as a storyline paired alongside a terrific outing by Sean Manaea, it took a funky hop off the bat of Jose Iglesias to get things started.

The magic didn’t disappear in extra innings when Starling Marte lined a hit into left field to send fans home happy.

Winning games against the Nationals are necessary for the Mets to remain a contender in the NL Wild Card standings. Losing to them would be like taking a late season loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Let’s watch the Mets move further up the NL Wild Card standings

Losing to the Rockies is precisely what the Arizona Diamondbacks did to start their week. After a triumphant walk-off win in extras on Sunday to save themselves from getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers, they started off their trip to Denver by losing on a throwing error.

Mets fans can appreciate the irony of winning without Francisco Lindor on the field only to see later on that it was Geroldo Perdomo who made the final error for Arizona. Perdomo was the guy who took a spot on the National League All-Star roster last season over Lindor which looks even more comical seeing he finished the season with only 6 home runs and a .246 batting average. That’s just an added dose of irony.

With the Mets win and Diamondbacks loss, New York now trails Arizona by a single game again. But wait. More immediately and importantly, the Atlanta Braves lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers as well. It broke the tie between the two NL Wild Card teams who began the day sharing the third seed.

The Mets are going to need to play their best baseball in these final days in order to make it to the postseason. Equally so, they’ll need a collapse by the Braves or Diamondbacks. Based on the schedules, it’s the Diamondbacks who have the far tougher challenge ahead of them in comparison to the Braves. So please excuse us while we celebrate their demise a little more.

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