NL Wild Card Standings: Mets winning streak at 9, everybody else loses

Could it possibly be a happier Sunday? The New York Mets winning streak is at 9. They hold possession of the third Wild Card spot and are only a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second one.

If you tucked yourself in early last night, you missed the Atlanta Braves losing to the Toronto Blue Jays. Earlier, the Diamondbacks lost their third straight. Even the San Diego Padres who have quietly played .500 baseball in the last 10 games weren’t able to find a win. Even the Chicago Cubs who temporarily seemed like they could cause trouble lost and are now 6 games behind.

There are only 3 weeks left to go in the MLB regular season with the final chaos occurring on Sunday September 29. Get ready for a bumpy ride.

The Mets winning streak has come at the right time to secure some breathing room

The Mets have bulldozed over some bad teams but it also came after defeating the Baltimore Orioles, splitting with the San Diego Padres, and taking a series from the Diamondbacks. Several of those losses during the late August gauntlet were victories the Mets had snatched away.

Sweeping the Chicago White Sox was a must. Doing the same against the Boston Red Sox was a treat. On the verge of three more victories against the Cincinnati Reds has shown the Mets aren’t about to take any day off.

In fact, winning against the Reds on Sunday and then pulverizing the Toronto Blue Jays this upcoming week is becoming necessary. The only team not playing for a playoff spot or positioning left on the schedule after Toronto are the Washington Nationals.

Winning their last game against the Reds and three against the Blue Jays will give the Mets some wiggle room to actually lose some games. If the goal is to go 12-8 and get to 90 wins, they can ill-afford to drop games to inferior opponents. This is the last weak part of the team’s schedule.

To find those final 12 wins, the Mets can get one more against the Reds and three against the Blue Jays. Take all three against the Nationals and they’re already at 7. Winning their series versus the Braves at the end of the year is extremely crucial. Let’s give them 2 victories there. We’re now at 9.

This leaves us with 10 other games. Those include 7 against the Philadelphia Phillies and 3 versus the Milwaukee Brewers. What will come out of those games? If the Mets can handle themselves in their other games, a 5-5 record should be good enough to earn them a playoff spot.

For 90 wins to be the mark needed to secure a playoff spot will surprise those who followed the NL Wild Card standings earlier this year. It looked like a .500 ball club could challenge. That was until the Padres, Diamondbacks, and Mets had second-half hot streaks.

Someone will get left behind. The blueprint for the Mets to make sure it ain’t them is there.