SB Nation • 7 min read

Mets Morning News: Mets maintain one-game lead for final Wild Card spot as Lindor gets to 30/30 again

Meet the Mets

The Mets scored eight runs in a win over the Cubs last night to take the series and remain one game ahead of the Reds this morning for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Choose your recap:

Amazin’ Avenue, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic, MLB.com

Francisco Lindor hit his 30th home run of the year to join Juan Soto in the 30/30 club this season, and Lindor is just the second player in Mets history to have multiple 30/30 seasons in orange and blue.

Speaking of Soto, he makes this list of the September heroes over at FanGraphs.

And speaking of Lindor, he says the Mets “have to get it done” with the opportunity they have in Miami this weekend.

Mets pitchers are willing to do whatever it takes to get the team across the finish line in its attempt to clinch a playoff spot.

Speaking of pitchers, the Mets are considering calling up right-handed reliever Dylan Ross for his major league debut this weekend.

Before their win last night, the Mets called up Kevin Herget and DFA’d Richard Lovelady.

Laura Albanese writes that the Mets’ defense has been a problem this year, but it’s too late to figure out why.

Ben Dickson profiles Ed Berman, a longtime member of the SNY crew that produces some of the very best baseball coverage on the planet.

Here’s how the Mets increased attendance at Citi Field by 38% this year.

Around the National League Wild Card

The Dodgers clinched the National League West with a win over the Diamondbacks that massively helped the Mets. Arizona starts the day today two games behind the Mets and one game behind the Reds, making their playoff chances a relative long shot.

Noelvi Marte robbed what would have been a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth as the Reds won 2-1 over the Pirates yesterday afternoon, and with Cincinnati having the tiebreaker over the Mets, the Mets’ magic number to eliminate them is three.

Around the National League East

The Walker Buehler/Taijuan Walker piggyback did well for the Phillies as they blanked the Marlins in a win.

Around Major League Baseball

Having already lost their longstanding division lead and fallen out of a playoff spot entirely, the Astros managed a win over the lowly A’s to stay one game back of the third American League Wild Card spot heading into the weekend.

And the Tigers, having blown their division lead and seen Cleveland overtake them this week, beat the Guardians in the series finale yesterday to pull even with an 86-73 record. But if the teams remain tied this weekend, Cleveland has the tiebreaker.

The Blue Jays ended their losing streak with a win over the Red Sox the has Toronto tied with the Yankees atop the American League East—and in possession of the tiebreaker—and Boston in the second Wild Card spot, one game ahead of the Tigers and two ahead of the Astros.

Shifting to games with no playoff implications, the American League West champion Mariners completed a sweep of the Rockies, who by the way have avoided eclipsing the 2024 White Sox or 1962 Mets for losses even if they get swept again this weekend.

The Orioles beat the Rays in their final game in Baltimore this year.

And the Royals’ offense exploded in a win over the Angels.

Netflix is going to broadcast some games exclusively next year, including the very first game of the season between the Yankees and Giants.

FanGraphs takes a shot at judging some midseason trades now.

Here’s MLB.com’s list of each team’s top prospect playing in the Arizona Fall League this year.