Mets chase Nola with HRs, start stretch run with impressive loss to Phils

PHILADELPHIA — Over the past few weeks, the cynics of the baseball world have greeted every Mets achievement with some version of: “Yes, but…”

A nine-game winning streak? “Yes, but…”

The reason for this was simple. Once the Mets reach the final two and a half weeks of their season, they face the toughest schedule in the majors: seven games against the first-place Phillies, three against the pitching-rich Nationals, three against the Mets' longtime rivals. in Atlanta, and three in Milwaukee against the playoff-bound Brewers.

It's a stretch that finally began Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, where the Mets brushed aside every argument their doubters could conjure up. Francisco Alvarez, Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader each hit three-run homers in the series opener, while Jose Quintana delivered one of his best performances of the season in an 11-3 upset of the first-place Phillies.

That allows the Mets to hold a one-game lead over the Braves for the third wild card spot. the only “Yeah but…” This came from the night in the seventh inning, when Lindor was removed due to lower back tightness. But the Mets seem to have avoided the worst outcome there, too, given their optimism that Lindor could play as soon as Saturday.

“I think if it's a close game, he'll fight that one,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Before that, all the vibes coming from the visiting dugout were good. Although the Phillies tagged Quintana for plenty of hard contact in the first inning, most of it landed in New York's glove.

In the middle innings, Quintana settled into a groove and the Mets' own offense began to hum. Nimmo described it as his team's ability to make Nola work counts and throw extra pitches.

With two runners on in the fifth, Alvarez rattled one into the left-field foul pole to open the scoring. Nimmo followed four batters later with a three-run shot of his own.

“I think this series is going to be like playoff baseball, and in playoff baseball, everything hangs on a knife's edge,” Nimmo said. “Things can go really quickly for better or for worse. For us it's just a matter of hammering things out, having good at-bats, staying on top of it and finally breaking that dam in the fifth is what you have to do with good pitchers.”

Over the next two weeks, the Mets will almost exclusively see good pitchers as they try to push toward a playoff spot. Despite holding a one-game lead over the Braves this weekend, major projection systems like FanGraphs only give them a coin-flip chance to make the playoffs. That was largely due to their late-September schedule — a gauntlet their players were well aware of.

“It's going to be a great test for us,” Lindor said before Friday's win. “If we make it out of this stretch in a good position, the postseason should be fun. … we are preparing for this. This is what we play for. And we're looking forward to playing good baseball, good winning baseball.”

Lindor went on to say that “this is what I always wanted” — a chance to play his way into the postseason. For months, he has urged his teammates to just keep their heads above water, to give themselves a chance in September. They have done that now. They've almost reached the final fortnight of the season, and they're still in contention.

“We are playing well,” Mendoza said. “We know we're a good team.”

Mendoza added that the Mets will face more adversity in the coming days and weeks. The road to October, he has warned more than once, will not be easy.

If at the end of that road, the Mets are still standing?

“I've always said the playoffs are about who gets hot at the right time,” Nimmo said. “So we're trying to continue playing good baseball here until the end of September and continue to do so in October.”