The New York Mets season is hanging on by a thread.
That is not hyperbole; it's a fact. Just look at the Mets schedule and the standings in both the NL East and the NL Wild Card race. The Mets still trail the Philadelphia Phillies by only a 1/2 game in the East, but are barely holding onto the second wild card with San Diego, San Francisco, and Cincinnati all bearing down.
The Mets' wild card chances took a severe hit over the weekend when they lost two-of-three to the Reds at Citi Field. The issue? The same that have plagued the Mets all season: not enough pitching, and not enough timely hitting.
On Friday, the Mets bullpen imploded after Sean Manaea gave the Mets four solid innings of one-run ball. On Saturday, Clay Holmes couldn't find the strike zone.
Meanwhile, the Mets hit only .212 in the three-game series, with Francisco Lindor producing an 0-for-14 effort. Juan Soto went 1-for-11, and Pete Alonso 1-for-10. Alonso also didn't start Sunday due to a bruise on his thumb.
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| Juan Soto of the Mets. Getty Images/. |
To alleviate the pressure on the lineup, the Mets recalled catcher Francisco Alvarez from Triple-A, after he clocked 11 homers in 19 games at Syracuse. But is that enough? Alvarez was struggling this year, with a .236 batting average, three homers, and 11 RBI in 35 games this year.
And the schedule is not going to get any easier. It starts Monday when the Mets see an L.A. Angels team that took two-of-three in Philadelphia over the weekend, and then continues with a monster west coast trip to San Francisco and San Diego. That's righ,t the same two teams chasing down the Mets in the wild card.
In fact, the Mets will have six games with the Giants in a matter of 10 days between July 25 and August 3. Talk about huge.
Look through the schedule right into September, and it is pretty obvious that the Mets' playoff fate could be determined before they welcome in the Texas Rangers to Citi Field on September 12.
The Mets will have seven games with the Phillies, six with the Braves, and series against the Brewers, Mariners, Tigers, and Reds in the coming weeks. All of these teams are contenders.
That puts even more pressure on David Stearns and the Mets Front Office to find a workable deal to get multiple players in return who can help lift this team.

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