Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I wonder how mad the rest of the NFC is at Jerry Jones for trading Micah Parsons and making the Packers even more of a clear-cut favorite. 

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In today’s SI:AM:

Stick a fork in them

Two weeks ago, it looked like the Mets were going to make the NL East race interesting again. So much for that. 

The Mets had spent much of the first half of the season leading the division, followed closely by the Phillies. But a dismal stretch from July 28 through Aug. 15 during which New York won just two out of 15 games put Philadelphia in the driver’s seat. A loss to the Braves on Aug. 24 dropped the Mets to seven games out of first place, with a series against the Phillies set to start the next day. When New York won all three of those contests to cut the deficit to four games, the race was suddenly competitive again. And now it isn’t. 

The Phillies just completed a four-game sweep of the Mets to stretch their lead in the division to 11 games with 15 games left in the season. The race is over. 

Thursday night’s game started promisingly enough for the Mets, as they jumped all over Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo with five hits in the first inning to take a 4–0 lead. The Phillies got on the board in the fourth with a two-run homer by Otto Kemp, and Bryce Harper’s RBI double in the fifth made it 4–3. Philadelphia then took the lead by scoring three runs off of Mets relievers Reed Garrett and Brooks Raley in the sixth. 

It was a really rough showing by the Mets. After their big first inning, they didn’t have another batter reach base the rest of the night. Luzardo settled down and completed eight innings, striking out 10, before handing the ball over to newly acquired closer Jhoan Duran, who picked up his 13th save in a Phillies uniform by striking out the side. 

The four-game set in Philadelphia marked the Mets’ last best chance to make the division competitive. New York entered the series trailing by seven games, so it could have cut the deficit to a very manageable three games with a sweep of its own. Instead, the Mets find themselves at risk of possibly missing the playoffs altogether.

“We don’t have too much time,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Teams are right behind us. The way you look at it is, we are still in control of the situation. We are still in control of achieving the ultimate goal. But we have to go out and do it.”

The Mets are now 76–71, clinging to a 1 ½-game lead over the Reds and Giants for the third and final NL wild-card spot. FanGraphs gives New York a 77.4% chance of making the playoffs—a healthy probability, but far lower than two weeks ago. After the Mets completed their sweep of the Phillies on Aug. 27, FanGraphs pegged their playoff odds at 96.7%, including a 25.1% chance of winning the division. Now, with the NL East all but wrapped up, the Phillies have a 100% chance of winning the crown according to FanGraphs.

When the season began, the Mets didn’t expect they’d be fighting for their playoff lives this late in the year—not when they have the second-highest payroll in the majors. One major difference between them and the Phillies is that Philadelphia was more aggressive at the trade deadline. 

The Phillies paid a pretty penny to acquire Duran, the best reliever on the market, and he’s been well worth it in 17 appearances. He’s only allowed two earned runs since the deal. Center fielder Harrison Bader, a former Met who the Phillies also acquired from the Twins at the deadline, has been playing some of the best baseball of his career since the trade. He’s batting .339 with a robust .942 OPS while also playing the same sort of elite defense that has been his hallmark in nine big league seasons. 

The Mets also sought upgrades in the bullpen and center field at the deadline, but their acquisitions haven’t panned out nearly as well. Former Cardinals All-Star Ryan Helsley has been a disaster since he joined the Mets, giving up 20 runs (16 earned) in just 13 innings. Center fielder Cedric Mullins went from having a 104 OPS+ with the Orioles to 67 with the Mets. 

The good news for the Mets is that they’re still clinging to a postseason spot. If they can pull out of this current skid, they should be playing October baseball. But there’s no doubt who the best team in the East is. 

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… things I saw last night. 
5. Aaron Judge’s 361st career home run to tie Joe DiMaggio for fourth place on the Yankees franchise leaderboard. 
4. An outstanding toe-tap catch by Packers receiver Malik Heath. 
3. Packers tight end Tucker Kraft’s strength to throw a tackler right off of him. Kraft had himself a night with six catches for 124 yards. 
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1. Mariners rookie Harry Ford’s walk-off sacrifice fly in just his fourth MLB plate appearance to end a wild game against the Angels. Los Angeles took the lead in the top of the 11th, only for Seattle to tie it back up in the bottom of that inning. Then the Angels scored again in the top of the 12th before Jorge Polanco brought the score level again in the bottom of the 12th, setting the stage for Ford’s heroics. (And yes, his full name is Harrison Ford.)


This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Phillies Seize Total Control of NL East With Four-Game Sweep of Mets.

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