A 10-game road trip didn’t end how the Mets wanted it to, getting swept by the Yankees in a two-game Subway Series to put a rather beleaguered bow on top of a 4-6 swing against the Braves in Atlanta, the Phillies in Philadelphia, and the Bombers in the Bronx.
Zoom out a bit more, though, and the Mets were mired in the most demanding portion of their schedule this season, playing 27 games in 26 days that featured nine games against the Braves and seven against the Phillies.
They went 18-9 during that stretch, though their divisional lead in the NL East shrunk to just two games with the Braves hot on their tails.
“That’s pretty good. We’ve been playing a lot of real high-quality teams,” Mets slugger Pete Alonso said about that record over such a difficult stretch. “It’s nice, but we’ve had some really close calls. We had opportunities to take some more of those games. But after all, it’s nice. We have to keep playing well.”
One such example of one that got away came on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium when the Mets battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie it — but missed opportunities and untimely miscues left the door open for their crosstown rivals to pull away.
It’s not the greatest result to sit on heading into just their third day off in nearly a month, but the rest is being welcomed.
“It’s going to be nice, I’m not going to lie to you,” Alonso said. “We’ve been playing a ton of baseball. Just to get a nice day to recharge, it’s much needed for sure.
“It’s been a tough road trip. We’re going to take all of these experiences against high-quality teams, learn from it, and apply them on Thursday.”
Thursday’s four-game series with the Colorado Rockies begins one of the easiest remaining schedules in Major League Baseball — even with a visit from the high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers to finish August — which provides an opportunity for the Mets to fatten up their divisional lead should they be able to hold it heading into the weekend.
They’ll play their remaining 37 games over a more manageable 42-day stretch.
“It’s just a part of the gig,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Everyone has a tale of woe at some time with the schedule. One day [off] doesn’t do it… Mentally and emotionally though, they can get away from it and be proud of the things that they’ve done and get ready for the last 37 games or whatever it is to work hard for a chance to reach our goal.”
