The Mets have preached focusing on controlling what they can control, and not worrying about the external factors that can determine their playoff fate.
But now, with just under three weeks to go in the season, New York will likely need some help to reach the postseason for the first time since 2016.
“It’s a scoreboard-watching time of year right now,” Rich Hill said after Monday’s loss to the Cardinals. “I think everybody is very aware of where we are, and being where we are in the Wild Card and the division. But again, it comes down to what we can control. We have to take care of business and win ballgames.”
The Mets didn’t take care of their end on Monday, falling flat in a 7-0 loss to Adam Wainwight and the Cardinals, in a game where two 40-year-olds faced off for the first time since 2015, also a game including the Mets and starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (who pitched opposite of former Met R.A. Dickey). Hill lasted five innings and allowed three runs, while Wainwright allowed just four hits in six shutout innings.
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With time running out, Hill knows there is little room for error, especially in this series, where New York is facing a team in St. Louis that is three games ahead in the Wild Card standings.
“It’s something that doesn’t sit well with me,” Hill said. “I understand we’re up against it right now and we have to win ballgames, and going out there and not putting us in the best position possible, it stings.”
The Mets are now 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot, with three teams ahead of them, and 5.5 back of the division. Another team ahead of them in the Phillies will be in town this weekend, giving New York a chance to directly make up some ground. But at this point, there will likely need to be some external help, even if the Mets are focusing on what they can do to help their cause.
“The results are what we need to take care of,” Hill said. “It has nothing to do with who is winning and who is losing…being able to rattle off as many wins as we can here in the next couple of weeks is obviously going to be very beneficial.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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