Mets' postseason hopes are down to 3 in Miami

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- Ask those around the Mets, and they’ll say they never thought they’d be in this position -- not after jumping out to the best record in baseball through June 12. But here they are, with three games to play and a postseason ticket on the line.

For the Mets, the stakes are simple: win all three in Miami, and they’re in the playoffs. Win two, and they’re probably in pretty good shape. They enter their final series of the season one game clear of the Reds for the final National League Wild Card spot, and two up on the Diamondbacks.

While there’s little doubt the Mets are fortunate even to be in this position, all that matters is what comes next.

“We feel like we’ve just got to go down there and handle business,” third baseman Brett Baty said after Thursday’s 8-5 win over the Cubs. “We can’t think about winning three games, because we’ve got to win tomorrow night. So we’re going to go down there and we’re going to focus on tomorrow night and we’re going to try to get a ‘W,’ and then see where things are at. And then keep fighting until the end of the season.

The biggest challenge for the Mets will be figuring out how to record 27 outs each night. After rookie starter Brandon Sproat on Friday, the Mets’ plans are fluid, largely because they burned through so much of their pitching this week in Chicago. Starters Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea are likely to play roles in Saturday’s game, but the Mets used both for an inning of relief on Wednesday.

The bullpen is in no better shape. Closer Edwin Díaz has recorded nine outs over the Mets’ last three games. Tyler Rogers, Brooks Raley, Ryne Stanek and Huascar Brazobán have all been used heavily. And yet, if the Mets still need a win on Sunday, that figures to be an all-hands-on-deck situation, with any number of pitchers -- including even No. 20 prospect Dylan Ross, who has yet to make his Major League debut -- prepared to play roles.

“We’ve been asking a lot of them,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re going to continue to rely on those guys. They know where we’re at, and they’re going to continue to ask for the baseball.”

It will help if the Mets can bang the ball around loanDepot park the way they did in Chicago, particularly during Thursday’s finale. But Mendoza noted the Mets will need to pitch better and play crisper defense if they wish to advance.

Everything is on the table now. There are no more excuses, and the Mets understand that. It’s three games for the entire season.

"You want to stay alive,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We’re in a position right now where we control our own destiny, and we’ve got to go take care of business. The Marlins, they’ve played us well. They’ve been playing well, and we know that. They’re a big league team, and we’ve got to go out there and take care of business. They’re not going to give anything away.”