The New York Mets have outperformed expectations recently and sit three games back of a Wild Card spot, so they have the ability to steal a postseason spot and here’s why.
The New York Mets have had quite an interesting season. Their general manager was supposedly managing games from his couch, their manager cussed out a reporter, and they made a confusing trade at the Deadline, acquiring Marcus Stroman.
Through all of that, they have climbed all the way back to just a handful of games back from the Cubs for the second wild card, and if anyone has the ability to go on a run it is them.
So, here are two reasons why the Mets have the ability to steal a Wild Card spot from the Cubs.
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1. Starting rotation is better than most
Since Brodie Van Wagenen held onto Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard, he is able to be confident that every single night there is a high-caliber starting pitcher on the mound.
Other teams in the race don’t have the starting rotation that the Mets do, which gives New York an advantage through September.
Despite the recent struggle in starts between Syndergaard and Wilson Ramos, the Mets rotation is performing well, led by Jacob deGrom.
deGrom, who has a 2.70 ERA, has arguably lept in front of Scherzer in the Cy Young race after Scherzer allowed three runs on Friday to the Braves while the Mets ace allowed just 1 earned run to the Diamondbacks in his last start.
2. Mets remaining schedule is not difficult
Another plus for the Mets is their schedule isn’t entirely difficult. Once the Dodgers series concludes this weekend, they only play one postseason contender the rest of the regular season.
They match up against poor teams including the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Miami Marlins.
The only thing in their way is the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers who have better lineups and, at times, better bullpens. A three-game deficit is hard to come back from with less than a month to go, but if the Mets rotation pitches well and their Wild Card competitors struggle, then they can sneak into the second spot.
Earlier in the season, I wrote that the New York Mets season was over, and while I still believe it is over, if there was a team that has the tools to steal a Wild Card spot, it is them.