The Philadelphia Phillies (69-49) have been at odds with the New York Mets (63-55), with only a few games separating them for most of the season. The Mets have shown the ability to play at a high level, but their recent second-half rut has spun their season into a tailspin. The Phillies have a perfect opportunity in front of them.
The Mets have lost 11 of their last 12 games and have gone 1-8 since the All-Star break. They are also currently tied for their longest losing streak this season at seven games after they were swept by the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
The Phillies, on the other hand, have won seven of their last eight after Monday's win over the Cincinnati Reds. They now lead the division by six games heading into Tuesday. The Phillies are in a perfect spot to stiff-arm the Mets and prevent any shred of a doubt that they can repeat as NL East champions.
Mets' bad second half has been crippling and puts them among the worst teams in MLB
Describing the post-All-Star Mets experience as bad would be a nice way of explaining it. Plenty of experts believed that they were built to outlast the Phillies for the division, but come crunch time, the Phillies are only getting stronger. The Mets, however, continue to perform like one of the worst teams in baseball, even with some new faces.
Since the All-Star break, the Phillies have been the king of consistency. According to FanGraphs, they rank fifth with a .339 wOBA, fourth with a .794 OPS, 11th in hits (188), second in home runs (40) and ninth in batting average (.252). The surge feels reminiscent of August of 2023, when the Phillies set a franchise record with 59 home runs that month, the most ever by the franchise in a single calendar month.
Meanwhile, the Mets have been playing a version of Bad News Bears in the second half. They rank 30th in wOBA at .290, 30th with a team .662 OPS, 30th in hits (150), 24th in home runs (23) and 29th in batting average (.216). They're at a low point, and the Phillies could build to an insurmountable lead in just a few weeks and shrink that magic number to win the division to zero.
There is a small chance that the Mets continue to play this badly, but anything is possible in baseball. Just ask the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies had their own bad stretch earlier this season, but the Mets were never able to capitalize. The Phillies strung a few wins together, and now they've gained their entire six-game lead in just a week.
The Phillies are 2-4 against the Mets head-to-head this season with seven more games to go, so there is still some life left for the Mets if the Phillies let them. Phillies fans are excited about the opportunity at back-to-back division titles, and it's time to prove that the Phillies are still the class of the NL East.